Ten Years Later
by Golden-Sama
Summary: [Complete!] Raven was in a coma for ten years, and during that time the Teen Titans fell apart. Now Raven's woken up, and she's looking for her friends but what she finds might shock her, and bring about the end of mankind. [BBRae] [RobStar] [SladeArella]
1. Rise and Shine

**Ten Years Later**

**By**

**Brandon "GoldenSama" Rice**

**Chapter One**

**"Rise and Shine"**

**A/N**: Dun, dun, dun! Howdy, name's Brandon, but you can call me GS if you'd like. I'm sure some of you reading this have read my other Teen Titans story, "Anything, Anytime, Anywhere For You" (which is still ongoing!) and if you have then you already know to expect action, comedy, romance, drama and some really evil cliffhangers. If you haven't read my other story then you can expect all of those above mentioned things from this story. Oh, I should mention I dedicate each chapter to a reviewer; it's a bit of an incentive for reviews. XD. I know, I'm horrible. This first chapter is for **Leftd**, who reminded me about this story with their review to my other story! So thank you dude!

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All she could hear at first was the soft humming of machinery nearby. She couldn't quite place the sounds, but they were all familiar. A low, mechanical buzz that continued on at the same steady pace. There was also a beeping; it seemed to be accelerating in frequency and growing in pitch. It sounded almost like an EKG heart monitor, like the kind found in hospitals.

What is a heart monitor doing in my room? 

Raven opened her eyes, but she quickly shut them again. During the brief second they had been open a white light coming from directly above her head blinded her. That was something new. She didn't remember installing any overhead lights in her room; only her bedside lamp and the candles she usually burnt that sat on the table beside her bookshelf. Raven opened her eyes once again and blinked several times until they adjusted to the light. Then she gasped.

This was _not_ her room.

Her room was dark; covered in black wallpaper with black carpets and curtains pulled tight over her window. There were old bookshelves full of spellbooks, a dresser that contained her mirror and several candles, and a closet full of blue capes and black skin-tight jumpsuits. That was the room she'd gone to sleep in. Waking up, however, she was in a completely different place.

The walls were white, the floor was linoleum like a kitchen, and there were baby blue curtains drawn all around her bed. Her bed was white and so was the blanket that covered her pale body. The curtains around the bed were all on hooks and swerved on a track like a shower curtain that covered her bed on all sides in an oval. She realized right away that she was in a hospital.

She just didn't know why.

_What happened? Did I get injured? No . . . I'd remember._

Raven was thoroughly confused. She hadn't remembered being injured recently. The last supervillian she remembered fighting was Mad Mod; and while he was highly annoying, Raven didn't remember him hurting her in any way; and she doubted he'd even be capable of such a feat. But that was the odd thing. Her memories were all fuzzy. She remembered last night in a haze; as if it had happened years and years ago rather than just a few ago.

Raven slid the baby blue blanket off her body and she received another shock. Instead of her usual skin-tight black suit, she wore all of the time; she was dressed in a gray hospital gown. She hated those things, they were itchy and she didn't like wearing clothing that opened in the back. It wasn't her fashion statement that struck her as odd, though. It was her body. It looked very different than the last time she'd looked in the mirror. Her skin was much paler than it had been, and it seemed poorly cared for. Instead of being creamy and soft like it normally was, thanks to the herbal lotion she put on every night, it seemed much roughed and uncared for.

_That's odd_. Raven thought to herself. She may not be as primpy as Starfire, but Raven liked to think she took good care of her body. How she'd let herself go like this she couldn't figure out. Raven swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. She walked across the room, but stumbled and almost fell over. She quickly stopped herself and levitated off the floor. Her legs seemed weak. Maybe that was part of the reason she was in the hospital in the first place?

That rose another important question; why was she in a hospital at all? They had an infirmary at Titan's Tower, didn't they? So why had she wound up here, instead of in the small, fully stocked medical room of the Tower? She'd have to ask Robin about that as soon as she found the others. Although first she'd have to find her clothes so she could get in touch with them using the communicator. Raven pulled the curtains around her bed open using her powers and looked around the room, but she couldn't find her clothing anywhere.

_Damn it._ Raven thought as she used her powers to open all of the drawers and cupboards and desks in the vast hospital room, looking for her things. Her clothes and her personal belongs weren't here, and that seemed very strange to her. Raven shook her head. She'd ask one of the nursing staff for them. Which reminded her, she had better call somebody.

She looked next to her bed and found a small remote control that was connected to the wall with a wire. On it were controls to the air conditioner that hung from the window, the television on the wall, the bed, which was a recliner; and at the very bottom a red button with a white cross on it. That one called the nurse, and Raven pushed it. A moment later a voice spoke out of the speaker.

"Nursing station, how can I help you?"

"Yes . . . I need a nurse." Raven replied; and she was astonished by how hoarse her voice sounded.

"Certainly. What room are you in?"

Raven paused. She had no clue. "I don't know. I just woke up. I don't even remember how I got here." She admitted.

"Fine, I'll trac—oh my god." The nurse's voice croaked. "Room 213? Miss, please stay where you are. I'll send someone right away."

The speaker clicked off. Raven didn't like the tone the nurse's voice had taken when she read the room number. It seemed like something was up; something that Raven would not enjoy. She decided it might be best if she used the phone to call the other Titans, have them come and pick her up and explain what happened. Raven levitated over to the table and picked up the tan colored telephone.

She placed the receiver under her ear and leaned her head to the side to hold it in place between her cheek and her shoulder. She dialed the number to Titan's Tower and waited. It rang only once before a mechanical voice responded. "We're sorry, the number you've requested cannot be completed as dialed. Please hang up and dial again."

Raven was confused. Why wasn't the phone number working? Maybe she'd misdialed. She quickly redialed the number; but once again she received the same cold mechanical message. She knew she'd dialed the correct number the second time. Her mind was racing. That didn't make any sense at all! Had they changed the number at the tower? Why would they?

Before she could ponder this question anymore, the door to her room opened. Raven quickly turned around so that her back was against the wall both so that she could face the person who entered the room, and so her bare back would be hidden. Three people had entered the room. The first was a tall man with thin black hair that was receding quite a bit and a pair of thick glasses. He wore a doctor's white jacket over a tan T-shirt and gray slacks. Behind him were two women, both wearing nurses uniforms. The woman on his right was young, pretty, petite and blonde. The one of the left was older, gray-haired and overweight with a mean face and cold eyes.

"Wow, she really is awake." The younger of the two nurses whispered to the doctor.

"Are you my doctor?" Raven demanded.

"Indeed." The doctor replied in a steady voice. "I didn't think it was possible for her to wake up. Interesting."

Raven paused. The doctor had directed that comment towards the nurses, not at her. It was as if he'd completely ignored her question all together. That wasn't helping her confusion or her mood. "I asked you a question."

"So you did." The doctor finally acknowledged her. "Why don't you get back into bed? You'll be more comfortable."

"No thanks." Raven said shortly. "I have a few questions."

"I'm sure you do, I'm sure you do." The doctor said in a passive voice, as if he was dismissing the concerns of a child and not really paying attention at all. Raven was becoming increasingly frustrated by his behavior. The doctor removed a small bottle of pills from his lab coat and took two of them out. Then he held his hand out to Raven, as if he wanted her to take the pills. "Take these."

"What are they?" Raven asked.

"Medicine. Take them."

"Medicine for what?"

"If you won't take the pills, we'll have to connect you to an IV." The doctor threatened, completely ignoring her once again. That was the last straw. One of the lights on the wall was covered in a black aura and shattered a moment later as Raven lost her cool.

"Listen up, I'm not here to play around with you!" Raven shouted, which caused the doctor and his nurses to recoil backwards with looks of sheer terror jumping across their faces. "I want to know why I'm here! What's wrong with me?"

The doctor had to adjust his glasses because they'd slid down the brim of his nose as he jumped backwards. While he did so, he dropped one of the pills he'd been holding and bent over to retrieve it. As he bent forward, the bottle of pills fell out of his pocket and rolled across the floor to Raven's feet. She levitated the bottle up to her own eye level so she could read the label.

Then she gasped. These were tranquilizers; and according to the label a heavy dosage. Raven narrowed her eyes at the doctor.

"Why did you try to give me sleeping pills?" Raven demanded.

"So you would sleep." The doctor replied sarcastically. The man was suddenly covered in a black aura and lifted off of the floor, he flew across the room and stopped mere inches from Raven's face.

"Don't play cute with me. I want some answers and I want them now. Why am I in this hospital?"

The doctor struggled, but he couldn't move. Both of the nurses screamed and ran out of the room, Raven could hear their heels clicking as they ran down the linoleum floors of the hallway. The doctor finally stopped struggling and looked down at Raven.

"You were admitted because you were in a comatose state." The doctor explained. "You've been like that the entire time you were here. I wanted to give you the sleeping pills to calm you down, that's all."

"I was in a coma?" Raven repeated, taken aback. "What, how?"

"I don't know. I've only been your doctor for the last three years, I didn't work here when –"

"Three years?" Raven echoed, her eyes becoming wide. She'd been in a coma for three years? How was that possible? Well, it did at least explain why her memories were so fuzzy, and why her skin looked as if it was uncared for. Though she had not really noticed it before, she could feel her hair down her back. It was much longer than she liked it to be. "I've been in a coma for three years?"

The doctor shook his head. "No. I've been working on your case for three years." He took a deep breath, as if he was preparing to dive off a diving board into a pool full of artic waters. "You've been in a coma for ten years, according to your charts. There's no reason listed. I just followed the same medication your last doctor prescribed."

Raven heard his words, but everything after 'ten years' sounded far away. That was impossible. Ten years? She could not have slept for ten years. It was preposterous; some kind of bad joke. Wait! Maybe that was the answer to all of this. Maybe this was Beast Boy's bad idea of a practical joke. She knew how stupid that sounded, since not even the pranking master could come up with something like this – and even if he could, he wouldn't have the means to pull it off.

Raven levitated across the room and looked into a mirror on the wall; then she screamed. It was obvious the doctor was not lying, as much as she wanted him to be. Her face had aged at least ten years. Rather than the eighteen-year-old Raven had seen in the mirror the last time she had been in her own bedroom; there was a twenty-eight-year-old woman she didn't recognize staring back at her.

"H-how is this possible?" Raven choked out.

"Like I said, a cause was never determined." The doctor sighed. "Can you let me down now?"

Raven turned around and released her mental grip on the doctor. She didn't bother to apologize to him; her mind was elsewhere. Ten years? She'd been in a coma for ten years and not even realized it? Was that even possible? There were so many questions. What had happened to her? Why was she at this hospital instead of the Tower?

The Tower. She remembered her failed phone call. Well, after ten years the number must have changed. But as she thought about it, she now had no idea how to contact the other Titans. Maybe the doctor would know something helpful. She was just about to turn around when she felt strong arms grab her around her waist. Raven gasped and struggled against the doctor; who was now trying to force her onto the floor.

"What the hell are you doing?" Raven cried out; she was so angry several of the lights in the room exploded.

"My job!" The doctor yelled back. A moment later Raven felt a needle pierce her skin. She realized he had injected her with something. Raven's eyes turned completely black.

"Azarath, Metreon, Zinthos!"

With those words, Raven's powers took effect. The doctor was once again illuminated in a black aura and this time he was hurled across the room and smashed into a wall. Well, he had been lying to her. Perhaps not about the length of time she had been in a coma; but for his reason for trying to give her those sleeping pills. She thought the dosage on the bottle had been strangely high. He was trying to get her to fall asleep again. She did not understand why he would want her asleep; but she did know it was not safe for her to be here.

Raven floated to the doorway and peered her head out. She wanted to get out of here without drawing any suspicion to herself; little did she know it was already too late for that. Raven heard footsteps and she turned to her left in time to see the two nurses that had run off screaming coming back – three security guards with them.

_Damn._ Raven thought, ducking back inside the hospital room and mentally slamming the door shut with her powers. She flipped the lock closed and put up the chain, but she knew it would not hold them. She also knew she was in a bad situation any way it was looked at. She glanced over to the window; her only chance.

The window did not open, of course, but that wasn't much of a problem. Raven lifted her hands up in front of her. "Azarath, Metreon, Zinthos!"

The window frame turned black, as did Raven's hands, and a moment later it was pulled right out of the wall. She could hear the doorknob jiggling as the guards pulled on it from the outside and she heard a gruff male voice mutter something about getting the key. Raven dropped her hold on the window and as the black aura dissipated it fell to the floor. Raven levitated over and zipped out of the window gracefully and into the clear blue skies.

She rose higher and higher into the air, leaving the hospital far below her. However, she quickly realized this would be a bad idea. It was hard to avoid standing out in a crowd when you're dressed in a hospital gown, but even harder when you're flying. This in mind, Raven quickly flew down and landed in an alleyway in-between a small shopping mall and a gas station downtown. She wasn't even sure what city she was in, but she guessed it must be a pretty small one from the way it looked from the sky.

Raven landed on her feet and took a few tentative steps forward. Her legs shook and she had to grab onto the nearby wall to stop from falling over. _Well that makes sense. I haven't walked in ten years, it'll take some getting used to again._ Raven realized. She couldn't very well fly everywhere; so this alleyway would have to do.

Raven released her grip on the wall and took a few uneasy steps. After ten years in a coma, she could hardly keep her balance and she was quick to fall forward. Luckily, she stopped herself from hitting the ground using her powers and rose back up into a standing position. Taking a deep breath, Raven tried again – with the same result. On her sixth try she was able to walk down the length of the entire alley before she stumbled and fell, and by the eleventh time she was able to walk forwards and backwards around the trash can.

It took much longer than she wanted to admit, but eventually Raven got the hand of her legs again. Still, the trial and error process had worn her out. Any exercise at all was tiresome because it was her first physical activity in ten years. Raven wanted to find someplace where she could safely sleep, but she knew she had other concerns right now.

Looking down at the hospital gown, which was now quite filthy from all of her falls (she had messed up a few times and been unable to stop before hitting the ground) and she shook her head. She couldn't keep walking around in this thing. Aside from the fact she didn't like giving the entire world a nice view of her butt, it was also cold outside and she was starting to shiver from the conditions. Raven rubbed her arms in a feeble attempt to warm up and decided she'd have to get some new clothes somehow.

The problem was she had no money. Shopping malls didn't have free samples of clothing, and she couldn't very well go in there telling stories about waking up from a ten-year-coma and then running from the hospital. Being dressed like this they'd probably assume she'd ran away from some psychiatric hospital. Raven sighed, that left only one option. She'd have to steal something.

From superhero to common criminal in just ten short years; how ironic. Raven sighed once again and cautiously approached the alleyway wall on the side of the shopping mall. She phased right through the wall, disappearing into a portal of swirling black energy and then reappearing on the other side of the wall.

Unfortunately for Raven she hadn't appeared inside a clothing store. She appeared in the kitchen of a restaurant. Raven cursed at her bad luck and quickly ducked down behind several stacked boxes of unpeeled potatoes. She could see several cooks working, but they'd all been to busy to notice her appearance. Raven wasn't sure what she'd do until she noticed two things. The employee bathroom was only a few feet away from her on her right; and a young woman around her age had just gone inside.

_I can't believe I'm going to do this._ Raven thought to herself. She hastily floated across the floor and used the same portal technique she had outside to pass through the wall and into the bathroom. The waitress was touching up her lipstick at the sink mirror when she saw the pale girl appear through the wall and she opened her mouth to scream.

Raven quickly used her powers to silence the woman before she could yell out.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Raven said, though she kept a band of black light tied around the woman's mouth like tape. "I just need your clothes."

The woman's eyes widened in confusion, but since a stranger with bizarre powers was making demands of her, she decided to comply. The woman stripped and tossed her clothes in a pile next to Raven.

Raven exchanged the hospital robe for the jeans and tee shirt the woman had been wearing. Luckily, they were a close enough fit that they would work for Raven. The shirt was a bit big, and the pants a little baggy; but it was better than a hospital gown. Raven turned to the frightened woman and sighed.

"I'm going to go now. Don't make a scene." Raven requested of the woman, with a 'or else' tone in her voice. She wasn't going to hurt the poor woman, of course, but she had to make the woman think she would. Raven didn't want her making a huge scene the second she left and getting people after her. Raven phased back through the wall and back into the alley.

She mentally made the energy around the woman's mouth vanish once she was outside, and then she made her way out of the alley and towards the sidewalk. She was still walking very slowly, because it was awkward to walk, so she stuffed her hands in her pockets and kept her head down to look inconspicuous. As she stuffed her hand in the right pocket she realized she had the woman's wallet.

Raven, a former superhero, felt like garbage stealing from that innocent waitress; but what choice did she have? If there was a time when murder can be justified by saying it's for a greater good, then surely theft can also be defended when there's no choice in the matter. Raven shook her head, deciding not to get philosophical today. She walked down the street as the sun began to set, and she wondered what she'd do now.

Where were the others? Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy. Her stomach tightened and her heart clenched up at the thought. It had been ten years, but to her no time had passed at all. She felt especially bad because the last time she could remember going into her room and going to sleep she had been angry with all four of her roommates – Beast Boy in particular – and she'd shouted at them and made a spectacle.

Now she'd do anything to see them again. Raven sighed and turned her eyes to the windows of the various shops she was passing by. She needed to clear her head; she needed to stop thinking about all of this.

As she walked by the Barnes and Noble bookstore, however, she saw something in the window that made it impossible for her to clear her mind. There was a large display of a new book that had just been released, a book with a red cover and black jacket. On the front of that jacket, written in large yellow letters, were the words "From Superhero to Superstar: My Life, by Garfield Logan" and beneath that was a picture of a man with pointy ears, a large nose, and green skin.

"You've got to be kidding me." Raven said aloud as she recognized not only the name, but also the coloration. Raven blinked just to make sure she wasn't going completely crazy, and then she entered the Barnes and Noble. She walked quickly to the display table and grabbed a copy of the book. She almost tripped and fell from going too fast, but she caught herself without making a scene.

Shaking her head she walked up to the counter and set the book down in front of the cashier, who was a middle-aged woman with curly red hair and thick horn-rimmed glasses. She looked down at the book Raven had set there and her face lit up.

"Oh, a Space Trek fan, huh?" The cashier asked as she zapped the book.

"A what?" Raven replied.

"You must be a Space Trek fan, right?" The cashier asked. "$19.95 honey. I mean, why else would you be buying Garfield Logan's book?"

Raven wasn't sure if she should be insulted or embarrassed, but neither emotion showed up on her face. "What's 'Space Trek'?"

The cashier stared at Raven as if she was completely insane. Raven had a bad feeling about this.

"It's the single greatest sci-fi television show in history." The cashier replied, clearly insulted by Raven's ignorance on the subject. "The original was cancelled years ago, but then a few years ago Garfield Logan restarted the new series and it became a hit. He's the executive producer, writer and the star; and a complete sci-fi genius!"

The cashier was speaking about Garfield Logan as if he was a deity of some kind. If not for the fact they were talking about a green-skinned man who apparently worked on a Sci-Fi TV show, she would have sworn it couldn't have been the same person she once knew as 'Beast Boy'.

". . . Right." Raven replied. "Can I have my book now?" She asked as she took a twenty and a one out of the stolen wallet and handed them over. The cashier still seemed annoyed by Raven's lack of Space Trek knowledge. She handed Raven the book inside a bag, Raven started to walk away when the redhead spoke again.

"Well, whatever. I'm going to the Space Trek convention in Los Angeles next week. The entire cast is going to be there celebrating their hundredth episode. Even Garfield Logan's going to be there."

Raven, who had hoped to get out of the store without hearing anymore, stopped abruptly and turned around.

" . . . and if someone went to this Sci-Fi convention, they could see Beast Bo--, Garfield Logan?" She asked.

"Oh yes. He loves hanging out with the fans. He's a real sucker for praise." The woman giggled.

_It's Beast Boy alright._ Raven decided. This day was getting crazier by the minute. She'd woken up in a coma, and now it looked like she was going to have to go to a Sci-Fi convention. She never thought anything in the world could convince her to go to a Sci-Fi convention; but apparently, she was wrong.

That settled it. She'd have to go get airline tickets for Los Angeles.

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The doctor whom Raven had knocked unconscious had been found and revived by the nurses and security guards. He ordered that they go search for Raven, and notify the police that a highly dangerous mental patient had escaped. Once he'd finished with his orders, the doctor stole his way into his office and opened his desk drawer. He took a strange black stone out of the drawer. It was round and smooth; and inside it seemed to swirl with white clouds.

The clouds parted, and four eyes appeared gazing up at the doctor.

"What is it?" A terribly cold voice asked.

"Sire, I apologize, but Raven woke up today." The doctor stammered in a fearful voice.

"I am aware. I have felt it." The eyes replied through the stone. "You know what you must do; whom you must call."

"Of course, my master." The doctor replied. "I'll see to it right away."

"So be it. My daughter must not be allowed to learn the truth about ten years ago. Do whatever is necessary to get her back. Do I make myself clear?"

"As crystal, milord." The doctor said.

"I was not speaking to you, human." The eyes snapped back angrily. "Dispose of this insolent being."

The doctor was confused at first, then he heard the sound of something moving behind him. It was the last sound he ever heard, as a second later his neck had been snapped by the second person in the room – the person he hadn't seen or heard.

The second person picked up the glowing orb where the dead doctor dropped it. "I will contain the problem, Lord Trigon." He said to the orb.

"You had better." Trigon the Terrible replied; then his four glowing eyes vanished from the black stone and the white swirls once again covered its center.

The man holding the stone quickly exited the doctor's office; he had to find Raven and take care of this incident, and he had to do it now.

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_The Next Day_

Sleep hadn't come easy to Raven her first night out of the hospital. Raven had, after leaving the bookstore, hurried to the local airport and purchased a plane ticket to Los Angeles, California. She'd also learned that she was currently in Maryland; meaning a long plane ride from one coast to the other. Raven had decided to stay at a Holiday Inn across the street from the airport. She purchased her room and then gone inside, locked the doors and attempted to sleep.

It was a lost cause. She couldn't get to sleep no matter how hard she tried. The idea that she'd been in a coma for ten years kept her awake with haunting significance. She was afraid that if she passed out, she might not wake up again for another ten years. She knew how stupid that sounded; but she could not shake that fear out of her head.

After a restless night, she headed over to the airport early in the morning. She never did like big crowds of people, and even though her flight left very early in the morning she still had to fight the lines to board the seven-forty-seven that would take her to L.A. Sighing happily when she finally got to board, Raven took a seat near the window just above the right wing and leaned back. She cast her eyes out the tiny oval shaped window and began doing something she'd done a million times since she woke up.

She started thinking about _that_ day. That crazy day ten years ago, that was responsible for this entire incident . . .

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**A/N**: There you have it! The first chapter of "Ten Years Later!"  
I'm sure it's a bit weird right now, and I know you probably all have a million questions, but let me assure you they will all get answers as time goes on! The next chapter is coming soon, and it is going to be a flashback to ten years ago and it will set up the actual story. Until next time, I hope you enjoyed reading this – and if you haven't, go check out my other Teen Titans story "Anything, Anytime, Anywhere For You"; you'll love it, I promise! Remember, reviews are the lifeblood of any fanfic; without them the story shall wither and die, so make sure you keep it alive!

PEACE OUT!  
GS


	2. Flaming Freaks and Starfire's Shopping

**Ten Years Later**

**By**

**Brandon "GoldenSama" Rice**

**Chapter Two**

"Flaming Freaks and Starfire's Shopping"

**A/N**: Wheeee! I was amazed by the feedback on this thing! A huge thank you to everyone who reviewed. As I said, each chapter must be dedicated to someone – and this one shall be dedicated to one of the first people to leave a review, who also happens to be a really cool friend of mine from the shrine: **Johanna**. So enjoy. Now onto chapter two; the flashback. It'll clear up some of the mystery about what happened to Raven, a little.

**Oh, a quick note**: as always I may refer to the characters by their secret identities (the ones used in the original comics) and for those of you who don't know, they are:  
Robin – Richard "Dick" Grayson

Starfire – Koriand'r (Tamaran) Kori Anders (Earth)

Beast Boy – Garfield "Gar" Logan

Cyborg – Victor "Vic" Stone

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Raven was anxious about the reunion with Beast Boy. Ten years is long enough to change anyone, even the green teen she once knew so well. The fact that he was a successful writer, actor and producer on a hit Sci-Fi television show led her to believe he hadn't changed as much as he could have. She could imagine an older Beast Boy sitting in his Hollywood mansion, snacking on tofu by the pool. Of course, this Beast Boy was rich and had thousands of fans telling him how great he was on a daily basis. She shuddered to think about how big his ego must have become. Even a little praise could turn the Beast Boy she knew obnoxious, and being a television superstar would definitely go to his head.

She'd been reading his book, and it was quite illuminating. The book was his life story – from childhood till now. It retold the tragic tale of how his parents had been genetic engineers working in Africa when he was a child, and how he'd come down with a deadly disease that humans cannot survive, but animals can. The book was very blunt about how his parents had genetically altered his DNA with the DNA of animals – which accounted for his green skin and superpowers. It also told about how his parents died not long after, and how he was sent to live with his greedy legal guardian. It retold the story of how he left his guardian's care when he'd been invited to join the Teen Titans.

The book then went on to cover his days in Jump City. Raven was surprised by how much the book told. It detailed his usual rituals of playing video games with Cyborg and annoying the rest of the team with his constant "anti-meat" campaign. He was also quite frank about Terra and that entire ordeal, which was a surprise. What came as more of a shock, however, was what the book said about her. There seemed to be an entire chapter devoted specifically to Raven – which had actually caused the pale girl's cheeks to fill with a colorful blush when she realized it.

It retold several of the old stories – he was candid about the time he'd become The Beast, and, much to her dismay, he was also quite vivid on the incident involving Malchior. What surprised her most, though, was what he'd written about the day she fell into her coma. Raven was astonished by what the book said, and she was sure that Beast Boy had written those words thinking that Raven would never get a chance to read them.

She sighed, looking down at the particular paragraph.

_I guess of all my friends from my days as a superhero, I miss Raven the most. I suppose this is because she is the only one I cannot see anymore. I'm still in touch with Robin, Cyborg and Starfire and talk to them on a semi-regular basis, but Raven is another story. She's in a coma now, has been for a little over ten years. It was a real blow to me when it happened to her. I know nothing lasts forever, and I became use to losing important people after my parents and Terra all died on me, but I don't think I'll ever really get over losing Raven. I guess mostly I regret not being more honest with her back then. I used to have a mad crush on her, even now it's a bit embarrassing to admit it. I doubt anything ever would have happened between us, but I still look in the mirror every now and then and wonder if things would have been different if I'd said something. I know it sounds stupid to still be hung up on a girl I secretly liked after ten years, but just like my character on the show, I simply can't forget_.

Raven wasn't too sure what he meant by that last line in it, since she'd never watched Space Trek. Although she was tempted to view the program after reading the first half of Beast Boy's book. She absolutely abhorred the Sci-Fi genre, and the original Space Trek had made her physically sick at how stupid it seemed every time she saw Beast Boy watching it back at the tower – but now she was honestly wishing she could see Beast Boy's version of the show.

So Beast Boy had had a crush on her? That explained many things. It helped explain _that day_ a little more. Her stomach gave a funny lurch as the memories resurfaced in her head. Her memory was getting better, and as she thought about the day she went into her coma it became painful; especially after reading Beast Boy's book. It was hard to believe, but it all made perfect sense now. She sighed, leaned her head back against the plane seat, and thought about _that day_ . . .

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_**Titan's Tower (Ten Years Earlier)**_

_That day_, the day she fell into her coma, started just like any other. Her alarm clock woke her up in the early-morning hours with its buzzing wail and she zapped it with her psychic powers to shush it up. Raven turned over, pulling her black blanket up over her head. She wasn't in the mood to be up this early. She hated getting up so early, but she knew she had too if she wanted to avoid the morning ruckus that usually accompanied breakfast. In about an hour Beast Boy would be in the kitchen fixing tofu waffles on one side of the stove while Cyborg grilled bacon on the other end, and both of them stood arguing with one another about meat.

Raven did _not_ want to hear that conversation, again. It was the same thing every morning and had been that way for as long as she could remember. She just wanted to have her breakfast and morning cup of herbal tea without having to hear those two argue over food choices. That meant getting up extra early, which was a hassle. Sighing, Raven lifted the blanket from her body and climbed out of her bed. One of these days she'd figure something out that would let her sleep in _and_ enjoy her morning; but until then this was her fate.

Raven waded over to her closet and retrieved a long blue cape, which she tied around her neck. She ran a comb through her hair briefly before covering her head with the hood and turning for her bedroom door. She opened it and stepped out into the hallway – a shrill shriek made her jump backwards.

She had stepped on the tail of a small green cat that was curled up outside the door. The cat hissed loudly as Raven stepped on its tail, and after she retreated into the recesses of her bedroom the cat transformed into a skinny green-skinned boy who was rubbing his bottom as if it was in pain.

"Dude! Watch it!" Beast Boy yelped.

"You're the one sleeping in the hallway." Raven pointed out in her usual monotone voice. "What are you doing outside my door, anyway?" She asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion, although he couldn't see it arch because of the shadow created by her hood.

"Huh? Oh . . ." Beast Boy became strangely quiet and stopped rubbing his sore behind. She noticed his fangs were nibbling on his lower lip, and his eyes had suddenly become transfixed on the floor rather than her face. She wasn't sure what he was up to, but she had a bad feeling. This reminded her a little too much of the time he'd been in charge of laundry for the tower. He had accidentally bleached her capes and they'd all come out white as ghosts. It had been annoying, to say the very least.

"What did you do?" Raven asked in an exasperated sigh.

"Nothing!" Beast Boy quickly replied, his voice raising a few decibels. "I didn't do a thing Rae, I swear!"

Raven was not convinced. "Then answer my question; why were you outside my door?"

"Well, I—"

Whatever Beast Boy might have said never made it out of his mouth. At that moment there was a loud squealing noise from elsewhere in the tower. Judging by the direction, it had come from the living room; and judging from the sounds, it was Starfire making the noise. Starfire was the naïve newcomer to earth with big emotions. She did not just get angry, she got downright ferocious; and the same went for happiness. This squeal of joy was clearly her hyperactive emotions kicking in again, and since the sound was loud enough to wake anyone in a large radius of the Tower, she must be incredibly happy.

"Dude, what was that?" Beast Boy asked, staring down the hallway that leads to the living room.

"Yo, keep the noise down!" Cyborg's grumpy voice called from out of his room. The half-mechanical titan stuck his head out of his bedroom doorway with a sleepy look on his dark face. He, at least, had been asleep. Raven and Beast Boy both look down the hall towards Cyborg for a moment, but no conversation ever took place.

The reason was that a split-second later a flash of red-and-purple shot down the hallway like a blur and zipped right past all of them. A moment later, the blur was back again, this time stopping in front of Raven and Beast Boy. Starfire stopped flying and threw her arms around both of them, embracing them in a bone-crunching hug. Raven sighed, realizing any chance of sitting and sipping her herbal tea quietly this morning had been shot down. Beast Boy struggled against the alien woman's arms, trying to free his neck and return oxygen to his lungs.

"Dude, Star, you're like crushing me!" Beast Boy stammered out. Starfire blushed and released them both.

"Raven! You must accompany me to the mall of shopping!" Starfire squealed, grabbing the gothic girl by her arm and taking off down the hallway again. Raven fell at first, but she quickly levitated into the air as Starfire continued to pull her towards the front door. Raven wasn't sure what was going on, but she knew she did not want to go to the mall; especially in the morning. Raven pulled hard and freed herself from the Tamaranian's grip. When Starfire realized she no longer had hold of her friend, she stopped flying and turned around.

"Raven? What is wrong?" She asked.

Raven was tempted to spit out a sarcastic 'what do you think' as a response, but she decided not too. There was something going on that she didn't fully understand, and whatever it was it had Starfire on a huge high. Raven decided not to ruin her friend's fun unless she had to.

"Starfire, I don't want to go shopping." She stated simply.

"Oh but Raven I will need your opinions! This is a matter of great importance!" Starfire insisted. The Tamaranian girl's eyes were as wide as baseballs and her face had taken on that pitiful 'lost kitten' expression. Raven merely quirked an eyebrow and crossed her arms.

"Is it really that necessary?" She asked, fearing the answer.

"Yes it is!" Starfire replied. "Please friend, accompany me."

Raven sighed. She absolutely abhorred nearly every store in the local shopping mall, except for the bookstore. There was a large bookstore there that had a 'quiet room' designed for people to read in after they purchased their books. Talking was not tolerated at all, and often when the group went to the mall Raven would recede into the bookstore, buy something interesting, and read while Starfire went crazy in the clothing stores and Beast Boy and Cyborg drooled over the latest Gamestation games.

"Okay, fine, but—"

Before Raven could get another word out the redhead squealed, hugged Raven once again, and took off like a rocket a second later. Raven shook her head and sighed. She was tempted to returned to the kitchen and go after her herbal tea, but she remembered Beast Boy's strange behavior, and she knew Cyborg was awake now – so she decided she'd get something to eat at the mall. She hoped it was so early she could avoid the crowds.

Raven levitated herself above the ground and headed in the direction of the local shopping mall. She still didn't know what Starfire's big deal was, but she had a feeling she'd hear all about it. Raven closed her eyes, not looking forward to her morning at all.

As Raven flew to the mall, she did not notice the strange things occurring around her. She glided down the street, and as she did, a dog began barking at her. That was nothing new. Dogs barked at everything. She heard the dog, but ignored it. She might have behaved differently if she'd also noticed that several stray cats in a nearby alley hissed and ran as she passed by, but she did not notice this. Nor did she notice that the squirrels in the park scurried into hiding places as she flew by. Butterflies, flies, bees and even the ants in the grass all hurried away as the Goth girl flew over the park. Raven did not notice any of this.

Nor did she notice the man in the black coat.

There was a man in a black coat. He was a tall man, dressed in a black sweater, black cargo pants and wearing a black trenchcoat over it. His eyes were hidden behind dark sunglasses, and his face was unshaven and black hair grew from his chin and under his nose. The hair on his head was long, silky and black and flowed down to the middle of his back. His skin was an even paler shade of white than Raven's. He was leaning against a pet store when Raven flew by on her way to the mall. All of the animals inside the pet store went berserk as soon as she passed by. The dogs barked, the cats hissed; even the fish in the aquariums started swimming erratically.

The man in black's lips twitched into a sinister smile. He pushed himself forward off the wall and started to walk down the street in the direction Raven had flown.

Raven, in the meantime, had finally arrived at the mall. She landed in the back parking lot and walked around to the front, so as not to draw any unwanted attention. Of course, being a local superhero Raven was well known to everyone in town. People often recognized the Titans when they were out, and depending on whom the people were they asked the group for everything from autographs to dates. The fan presence usually irritated Raven, but she rarely showed it. She couldn't very well go around frightening little children who asked for her autograph, could she? That wouldn't be right. Of course she did break her rule a few times. Once, when a smart-aleck teenager had made some comments on her rather revealing wardrobe she'd scared the hell out of him with her demon powers – but that was a rare event.

She entered the mall and spotted her favorite bookstore on the right. Raven smiled for the first time that morning. The bookstore really was a nice place. They had a wide variety of books on nearly every subject imaginable; and that reading room she loved so much had a free coffee machine in the back. The goth girl started walking towards the door, when she heard a familiar voice call out to her.

"Friend Raven, this way!"

Raven paused just as her hand was about to reach the door of the bookstore and slowly she turned to see Starfire waving at her from across the hallway. Starfire was floating just above the ground outside a clothing store, and Raven sighed. Starfire knew Raven hated shopping in clothing stores, so Raven could not figure out why she was so adamant about this.

"Here I come." Raven replied in her monotone tone, floating away from the bookstore with a dejected look on her face.

Raven, needless to say, did not enjoy the experience of shopping with Starfire at the clothing store. As soon as Raven arrived the redhead grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the store. Raven spent the next several minutes wishing she was back at the tower being berated by whatever it was Beast Boy wanted to bug her about this morning, rather than standing and watching as Starfire tore apart clothing racks looking for something.

"Starfire, why the sudden need to buy new clothes?" Raven asked at length as boredom caught up with her.

"Robin and I are going to view a movie this evening." Starfire said excitedly as she held a long pink dress up to herself and looked in a mirror. She shook her head, threw the dress back on the rack, and started looking again.

Raven quirked an eyebrow. '_Now this is starting to make sense'_. She thought. It explained that loud, shrill squeal that had pierced the silence of the tower this morning. Robin had asked Starfire out on a date. Well, Raven was not surprised in the least. Though she found it rather rude to butt into other people's private lives; anyone with half a brain could see what was lying between the boy wonder and the Tamaranian princess. Though Raven would be having a long talk with Robin, he better not is planning to make a habit out of asking Starfire out in the wee morning hours when some people were trying to sleep (or in her case, sneak in breakfast before the rest of the tower woke up).

"Okay. So why do you need _me_ here?" Raven asked, resuming her questioning.

"I must ask your advice on what I decide to wear." Starfire explained.

"Star, this might come as a shock, but I really don't know the first thing about fashion." A very sarcastic Raven replied. "Listen, I'm going to go get some breakfast from the food court, ok?"

"But Raven --!" Starfire started. She dropped the yellow gown she had been looking at and gave Raven one of her 'lost kitten' expressions. Raven sighed.

"I'll come back after I eat and then you can show me what you've picked out and I'll tell you if I like it or not." Raven said in an exasperated voice. "Deal?"

"Thank you friend!" Starfire squealed as she dove back into the clothing rack and began examining a shimmering blue dress. Raven shook her head and hurried out of the clothing store before Starfire could change her mind.

Raven's day, so far, was not going how she'd planned at all. Instead of herbal tea she was having fast food for breakfast. If that was a sign of things to come, she'd be in for one of the worst days of her life. Perhaps that was a bit dramatic to think, but if you compared things on a scale it made sense. Instead of herbal tea, she'd be having fast food. Magnify that to the superhero level and it meant instead of the usual run-in with someone like Dr. Light or Mad Mod; the Titans would probably have to deal with a competent villain next. She always despised the competent villains – they were a real pain.

Raven's mood did not improve as she reached the food court. She could find nothing that looked good to eat (she knew fast food was a bad idea) so she instead settled on a coffee from the coffee house. It, surprisingly, was not too bad. Mocha latte. It was as she was finishing the coffee that she noticed the man in black for the first time that day.

He was the same man in black who'd followed her from outside the pet store. She had not seen him follow her, so she did not realize this; but that did not change the fact either. The man was sitting at a table a few feet away from where Raven was sitting sipping her coffee quietly. The man was reading a newspaper, but Raven saw him look up at her several times when she was taking a drink of her coffee. It seemed like every time she did something that could possibly distract her, he would look up at her.

_This can't be good_. Raven thought. She wasn't worried about it. She was a superhero after all. She had telekinetic powers, not to mention her powerful "soul-self" which she could use to make someone face their worst fears if she desired. A creepy middle-aged man in a trenchcoat wasn't enough to scare Raven; not even close. It mainly annoyed her to know there was someone staring at her. She hated being stared at. Either he was an obsessed fan of the Titans, a newspaper reporter, or just a pervert who'd notice the young girl in the skin-tight outfit.

Deciding that no matter what he was, she wanted nothing to do with him, Raven stood up and glided over to the trashcan. After throwing her coffee away she headed back towards the clothing store to find Starfire and hopefully get out of here soon.

Raven did not look back at the man; which proved to be her next mistake. The man stood up, put his newspaper down, and reached into the pocket of his trenchcoat. He pulled out a small egg. It was colored a dark red; the color of blood. The long-haired man dressed all in black set the egg down on the table and then held his right hand over it. He wore motorcycle gloves; the kind without fingers on them. Then he began to chant something in a soft voice, too quietly for anyone to hear.

The egg flashed with a bright red light and began to shake. The man's face lit up into a smile and he quickly walked away from the table. He thrust himself up against the wall next to the bathroom door and glanced back to where the egg sat. It was shaking violently now, but no one seemed to notice. Not until it cracked, that it. Once the egg's red shell cracked, a thin beam of bright red light shot out of it and illuminated the room.

Several people began to whisper excitedly to one another, and a few shouted. Raven could hear the commotion start behind her so she turned her head back towards the food court to discover the cause of it. As she did so, the egg cracked in several other places and red lights shot from each crack.

"Great." Raven sighed, her sarcasm wasted since everyone around her was now either staring, pointing and whispering to each other about the weird light show.

Then the egg shattered; and something came out. Fortunately, no one had gotten close enough to the egg that they were injured. Unfortunately, when the egg exploded a fire started on the table. At first the onlookers believed it was _just_ a fire, but the flames shot up high into the sky and began to take a distinctive form and shape. It looked almost like a man, from the way the fire was burning. Two tall torrents of flames resembled legs; they blended into one gigantic ball of fire which looked like a body. A small ball of fire sat on top where a head would go, and two more torrents of fire branched off from the side like arms.

The intense heat of the flames had melted the table completely, and that was only the start of the bad news. The flames began to move – it looked like "flame man" was walking.

Which he was.

The "flame man" rose what looked like his right arm. Everyone stood in confusion and panic. No one knew what was going on, and it seemed like everyone in the mall was frozen on the spot, watching the strange event unfold. Suddenly red-hot fire sprang from the end of "flame man's" right "hand" and flew into an adjacent MacDonald's stand in the food court.

The ball of fire that he'd thrown smashed into the oven and the entire MacDonald's stand exploded, showering the room with greasy French fries, coins from the cash register, and flames. At this point, the onlookers were no longer frozen with fear; they were all running and screaming. People fled in every direction while wailing at the top of their lungs.

Raven wasn't sure what this creature was. She'd seen and battled things like it before. Slade had once crafted a giant man made of fire with the help of a pair of brothers named Thunder and Lightning. This, however, was very different -from the creature Slade had created. The flaming creature began to advance across the floor; and Raven's day just got worse.

The gothic teen floated up into the air and her eyes and hands instantly began to shimmer with black light. Several of the fountains in the various food courts that were used for dispensing drinks broke off and the various liquids, now controlled by Raven's power, shot across the room at the flaming creature. The creature was soaked with everything from water to Seven Up, and it shrieked out in a shrill voice as it took a huge step backwards. The floor beneath its flaming feet burnt; and it's burning skin hissed and sputtered as the liquids continues to hit it from all sides.

People were still screaming and running in every direction, but it appeared that this battle would soon be over. As the soda machines began to run low on fuel, Raven lifted her hands above her head and set off the sprinkler system with her powers. Water began to pour down from the ceiling and drench the entire mall. The flaming creature fell to its knees, still howling in that same frightful tone.

From where he stood at the door to the men's room, the man in black smiled. He flexed his fingers inside the motorcycle glove and muttered something in a strange language much older than those spoken by humans. The flaming creature, which was almost extinguished by the rain, suddenly blazed back to life. Its flaming body flared up again, the flames even hotter and brighter than they had been originally. It cried out in a voice like thunder and waved its arms above its head. As it did flames flew out of its fingertips and melted the nozzles of several of the sprinklers on the roof; sealing them and preventing them from showering down any more water.

The creature began to systematically throw fire at each of the sprinklers, melting the metal and stopping the flow of water. Raven cursed in her mind and stopped her mental assault. She floated backwards, unsure of what to do next when she heard Starfire.

"Raven? What is happening?"

The Tamaranian girl was now at her side, floating above the ground as well. Starfire had a shopping bag in one hand and a worried look on her face. When the alien girl's eyes fell on the flaming beast they widened in terror and she dropped the back.

"We must stop it!" She cried out.

"Been trying." Raven informed her. "Not as easy as it looks. I think we'd better call the others."

Raven pressed the red button she wore on the end of her cape and it began to blink; sending a distress signal back to Titan's Tower. She then reached for the yellow communicator from her belt and flipped it open.

"Robin, get down here; now!" She called into the communicator before closing it again and returning it to her belt. There was not time for big conversations or explanations right now.

Unbeknownst to Raven, while she was calling the other Titans the creature had finished disarming the sprinkler system. Now it turned around so that it was facing the two teenage superhero girls. It let out what sounded like a roar and then it charged at them. Starfire's eyes turned a bright, glowing green and she lobbed two starbolts at the beast.

The starbolts crashed into its chest, but the creature kept running at them. Apparently, the solar energy inside Starfire's bolts had been absorbed into its flaming body, because the flames began to burn brighter and bigger than before. Starfire squeaked and flew up into the air towards the left; Raven flew to the right. The creature arrived at the exact spot they had just been standing in and smashed its flaming fists into the ground only seconds too late. The floor of the mall melted into a puddle where the beast hit it.

Raven's eyes flashed black once again and two of the foot court tables flew across the room and smashed into each other – with the creature in-between them. The impact was severe enough to sever the creature right at the waist. Its top half slipped off and fell onto the floor on the right, while its bottom half collapsed beneath the tables.

Raven's eyes returned to normal and she breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, it was too early for celebrations. The man hiding in the bathroom doorway waved his hands suspiciously and chanted once again, his presence still unknown to both of the girls.

The creature's top half grew a new set of legs; and its legs grew a new body complete with arms and a head. Instead of one man of fire, there were now two. Each slightly smaller than the original; but still just as hot and just as angry.

"Damn!" Raven yelled, her anger boiling over to the surface. Starfire bit her lip. Her starbolts, as they had seen, were useless against these creatures. She doubted her alien strength would come in handy either, since she could not very well punch or kick a giant ball of fire without burning herself.

The twin flame beasts began to advance on the girls. The creature born of the original head was coming after Raven, while the one born from the legs was going towards Starfire. Raven's eyes and hands filled with a black aura once again and she threw two of the round tables at the creatures. The tables hit them and shattered into pieces; all of which caught fire. Neither creature slowed down in its advancement.

The one born of the original head hissed a roar and then threw a fireball from its arm. Raven held her hands out in front of her and created a shield of black light. The fireball hit the black shield and cracked it; but it did not shatter. Raven had to struggle to hold the shield up against the punishment, though, and she knew it could not withstand a second blast.

Unfortunately, the creature had _already_ fired a second blast. When the second wave of flames hit the shield it shattered into pieces and Raven was sent flying backwards. She hit the ground and cried out in pain. She'd landed on her back, hard, and pain was shooting through her entire body. Her lower back especially was hurting her, and she had pains going up her spine.

Starfire flew down beside her friend, concerned about Raven's safety. She glared at the flaming creatures with fury inside her green eyes; but she knew she could do nothing. Her starbolts only fed the flames, so rather than try to fight them the Tamaranian girl picked up Raven in her arms and flew up into the air. The closer of the two creatures threw a fireball from such close range Starfire knew she could not avoid it. She squinted her eyes, bracing herself for impact.

The impact never came.

"Starfire, move!"

Starfire's eyes flashed open again at the sound of that voice. She looked up to see that the fireball that had been heading straight for her had seemingly vanished. A boy with spiked black hair, a yellow cape, and red-and-green tights was standing in front of her.

Robin was here.

The closer of the two creatures threw another fireball; but Robin threw a yellow disc from his utility belt and it hit the fireball in mid-air. The disc exploded and created a freezing mist. Normally these discs froze their target solid; but because the target was a ball of fire that was impossible. Instead the freezing mist melted into moisture and that water extinguished the fire.

The flaming creature screamed in frustration; then it screamed again. The second scream came when a wave of bright blue sonic energy slammed into its side and knocked it backwards.

"Booyah!" Cyborg yelled, running into the now-deserted food court with his cybernetic cannon arm still aimed. Cyborg rounded around and fired a second shot at the other creature; it slammed into the creature's leg and the creature went falling backwards. Its leg snapped off and rolled away from the rest of its smoldering body.

The hiding man in black had to bite back his laughter. He muttered his mantra again and the leg grew a new body, while the body grew a new leg.

"What the –" Robin began to cry out, but at that moment the first creature Cyborg had shot got back up and ran towards him roaring. Robin had to do a back flip to escape from being smashed by its flaming fist. Robin tossed a freezing disc onto the beast and the icy mist reacted with its body just as it had with the fireball. The creature turned into a wisp of smoke and vanished. Robin grinned.

Unfortunately, there were still two flaming monsters left, and they both seemed to be charging towards Cyborg at the same time. Cyborg fired his sonic cannon at one of them and knocked it down, but he didn't have time for a second shot. The creature dove at him, attempting to crush the robotic hero with its own body. However, a large green pterodactyl swooped down from the sky at that very moment, grabbed Cyborg by his shoulders, and flew him to safety just seconds before the creature landed on the ground.

"Way to go BB!" Cyborg yelled up at his friend. Beast Boy nodded his head to show his acknowledgement.

Robin, meanwhile, tossed another freezing disc at the flame beast that had jumped at Cyborg. The disc exploded and covered the creature in the same freezing mist – and just like its earlier counterpart, the creature turned into a wisp of smoke. Robin spun around with his last freezing disc in hand, this one he planned to use on the final flame creature.

Unfortunately, the final flame creature was a little too fast for the boy wonder and it hurled a fireball at him. Robin back flipped and avoided the flames, but while doing so he dropped the freezing disc and it rolled across the floor. Since that seemed the only way to defeat these creatures, Robin knew he had to get his hands on it again.

Luckily, Cyborg and Beast Boy had seen the entire thing from above. "BB, I'll distract flame-face, you get Robin's freezer!" The pterodactyl let out a squawk to show he understood and he released his grip on Cyborg's shoulders.

Cyborg fell and had to do a duck-and-roll upon impact to keep him from getting hurt. As soon as he came out of the roll, he aimed his cannon and fired it at the creature. The creature was hit dead on in its chest and fell backwards onto the ground.

Beast Boy, meanwhile, had transformed from pterodactyl into his normal human form. He grabbed the freezing disc where Robin dropped it and he turned his head. The flaming beast had just gotten back up and was running towards Cyborg. Beast Boy was horrible at throwing things on target; but his friend was in danger. He didn't stop to consider that if he missed he would waste their last freezing disc. He threw the disc at the flaming creature, but it went wide and sailed right past it.

"Oh crap." Beast Boy muttered.

The disc flew right at the wall, but just before impact it suddenly stopped in mid air as it was surrounded by a black aura. Raven, who was still in Starfire's arms, lifted her right arm and used her powers to grab the disc in mid air, it was incredibly painful to move her arms right now; but she didn't care. She levitated the disc across the room and smashed it into the flaming creature. The disc exploded and extinguished the beast.

"Thanks Raven." Cyborg panted. He was sitting on his butt inches from where the creature had been. A few seconds later and the beast would have been upon him.

"Hey dude, what about me?" Beast Boy asked, grinning.

"You missed." Cyborg snapped.

"I was just jokin' Cy, don't get all grumpy." Beast Boy replied.

"Man, first y'all wake me up too early, and then I almost get fried like bacon. Don't tell me not to be grumpy." Cyborg complained.

"Aww, get over it." Beast Boy responded, waving a hand.

While those two argued, Robin hurried over to Starfire. He was out-of-breath, but his face wore a unmistakable look of concern. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"I am uninjured, but Raven –" Starfire began.

"I know. Take her back to the tower Star, to the infirmary. I'm right behind you." Robin cut her off mid-sentence. "Hang on Raven, we'll take care of you."

"Just do me one favor." Raven replied, shutting her eyes and trying to ignore the pain.

"Anything friend." Starfire responded.

"Make me some herbal tea when we get home, kay?"

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_**On The Plane, (Present Day)**_

"Would you like a beverage, miss?"

Raven's memories about _that day_ were interrupted by the sounds of the flight attendant. The flight attendant was a young woman with curly blonde hair. She wore the typical uniform and was pushing a small gray cart loaded down with various beverages. Raven closed the book in her lap and looked over at the cart. She noticed a large silver pot on the back.

"Is that coffee?" She asked. She hadn't slept well, and she could use the pick-me-up.

"Actually it's an all-natural herbal tea." The flight attendant replied.

Raven felt a smile twitch at the corner of her mouth. "Sounds good."

The flight attendant smiled at Raven as she filled a Styrofoam cup with some of the piping hot herbal tea. Raven accepted it gratefully and brought the cup to her lips as the attendant turned her attention to the man in the seat across from her. Raven felt relaxed and at peace with the world as the sweet nectar washed over her lips.

It had been a long time since she'd drank any of this. Sighing, she turned her head towards the plane window and began to drift back into memories about _that day_ . . .

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**A/N**: And this concludes chapter two! I realize it didn't explain how Raven wound up in a coma, or how she wound up in Maryland for that matter – but I promise all of those things **_will_** be explained very soon. I'd like to once again give a HUGE thanks to everyone who reviewed; it makes me feel very accomplished and it makes me want to write faster.


	3. Savaro and the Space Trek

**Ten Years Later**

**By**

**Brandon "GoldenSama" Rice**

**Chapter Three **

"Savaro and Space Trek"

**A/N**: Again I have to thank everyone who reviewed, truly I'm amazed by the amount of feedback this has gotten already. You readers really do rock, and I promise I shall do my best to make this story rock too. I'm going to dedicate this one to **Whispers of a Fallen Angel**. I'm glad you thought I did a good job on Raven's character. That's really reassuring to hear, since the story focuses on her, and since she's my favorite character. Also, this chapter will introduce the man in the black trenchcoat. Be aware that several words are purposely misspelled in his speech, because of his accent.

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_**Titan's Tower (Ten Years Ago)**_

"Is she going to be alright?" Beast Boy asked nervously. The small green teen was sitting on a chair beside Raven's bed in the tower infirmary. Starfire was standing at the edge of her friend's bed with her green eyes filled with worry and tears. Cyborg was sitting at a computer station, his robotic eye scanning the computer screen, which was tracking Raven's vitals. Robin was bent over Raven's body, connecting different machines to the surface of her skin with sticky pads. He was hooking her up to the medical equipment so they could determine how badly she was hurt.

Raven was still awake at this point, but barely. Robin had given her some drugs for the pain, and they were quickly taking effect. She suspected that the boy wonder had given her a bit more than she needed in the hopes that she would pass out and sleep. Raven did not like the infirmary of the tower, and she despised being hooked up to all of the machinery. It would be a lot easier to treat her injuries if she was asleep.

"I'll be fine Beast Boy." Raven muttered quietly as she suppressed a yawn.

"Shhh. Save your strength." Robin commanded, taking on his usual leader tone. Robin had medical training that the other Titans did not. Alfred had trained him extensively in the medical field back in his sidekick days. Of course, Alfred was a spy-turned-butler, not a doctor; but with his master's job, he had to know a thing or two about the medical field.

"Don't treat me like a child Robin." Raven snapped back. She was slightly irritated at his insistence that she rest. Sure, she was in bad shape from the fight, but she had also lived through worse on several occasions.

"Friend Raven, trust Robin. He is only looking out for your well-being." Starfire insisted in that same, passive-aggressive alien voice that seemed to bring a strange sense of rationality to this situation. Raven sighed, realized she was outnumbered, and leaned back into the pillow behind her head.

She was getting sleepy.

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_**LAX, Los Angeles, California (Modern Day)**_

Raven's memories of _that day_ were cut short by the sound of the captain's announcement. Apparently, they were landing now. Raven was amazed at how quickly the time seemed to have passed by on the cross-country plane ride. Her empty Styrofoam cup lay on the tray-table in front of her, and her seat was leaned back. Raven was lucky that no one had sat behind her, and she had been able to lean her seat back and get some rest on the plane. She had not slept, but she had rested her eyes and drifted off into memories. Now, however, the flight was over.

Raven swept up her cup and stored the tray-table for landing, and then she sat her seat back up. Raven felt an awkward, unfamiliar twitch in her stomach. She was here. In Los Angeles, Beast Boy's new home. She had never been to the city before, but she was sure she would not like it from what she had seen on TV. Of course, after ten years, cities, like people, can change; but LA remains timeless in some ways.

Raven felt the soft thud of the plane touching down and she relaxed in her seat until at last it was time to disembark. When passengers began to stand and dig for their suitcases from the overhead bins, Raven quickly rose from her seat and made her way off the plane. The stewardess smiled at her and waved as Raven swept past the captain's cabin and out the door. She was one of the first ones off the plane, along with a young married couple, an elderly woman, a young man in military uniform and a man with white hair, a matching beard and mustache, and an eye patch.

Raven arrived at the airport terminal and she stood and looked around for a moment, letting the crowd pass her by. Most of the people who had been with her on the plane met people here in the terminal and she watched as hugs and hellos were exchanged. The elderly woman was picked up by her son, the man in military uniform was now hugging a beautiful blonde woman, and the married couple had met with some friends and were chatting happily.

The eye patched man with white hair, like Raven, simply stood in the middle of the walkway. She assumed he must have no one waiting for him either – just like she did not. Raven had never really appreciated it before now, but she missed the other Titans. Often they got on her nerves back at the tower, but not having them around was horrible.

Shaking her head, Raven began walking out of the airport. She was tempted to stop and get some food, since she had not eaten a real meal in years. While in her coma she had only been fed through IV tubes; and since waking up she'd had nothing but the herbal tea and a bag of airline peanuts. She could feel her stomach begging for nourishment, but fast food was out of the question – especially considered what had happened last time.

When she reached the outdoors, she found the parking lot crowded, as it always was at LAX. She did not have to wait long before she was able to find a taxicab. Raven climbed into the backseat and gave the driver directions to go to the Los Angeles Convention Center. That is where the Sci-Fi convention was being held to honor Space Trek; and that is where she would find Beast Boy.

She did not notice as the cab pulled away that the white-haired man from the plane watched her drive off. Had she noticed this, she might have gotten a bad feeling. A mere moment after Raven's vehicle disappeared into the distance, the eye patch-wearing man stood still for a moment, watching the taxicab vanish as his mind reeled with the sighting.

"Raven." The man whispered to himself. "So it has begun at last. Excellent."

He reached into his jacket and retrieved a cellular phone. He quickly flipped it open and dialed a number. There were three rings before a voice picked up.

"Hello?"

"It's Slade. I need you to meet me in Los Angeles."

"Slade? I thought you were retired."

"No, not retired. I've just been enjoying a ten-year vacation. I'll meet you at our usual rendezvous spot. Don't be late."

With that, Slade hung up the cell phone and returned it to his pocket. He knew that with Raven awake it was only a matter of time until things started happening. He had always known this time would come, and he'd been waiting for it for ten long years. Though not as young as he once was, Slade Wilson was every bit as deadly now as he had been in Jump City during his reign of terror as the Teen Titan's Archvillain. Slade hailed a taxicab and climbed inside the backseat.

It was only a matter of time now.

**

* * *

**

_**Titan's Tower (Ten Years Ago)**_

It was late now. The sun had already gone down for the day and the pale, silvery glow of moonlight illuminated the infirmary. Raven sat up in the infirmary bed bathed in the moonshine and lost in her mind. The young goth girl was still trying to make sense of earlier. The incident at the mall had her rattled. Those flaming creatures had seemed to come out of nowhere. Robin had gotten a hold of the security camera tapes from the mall and the tapes had revealed an unknown longhaired man in a black trenchcoat had been responsible for hatching the original creature from an egg.

Raven realized, after watching the tapes, that something was not quite right. She'd noticed the longhaired fire starter had been watching her before he created the creature. She knew this had something to do with her; and she suspected it went deeper than that. Gigantic flaming monsters were a favorite of Trigon the Terrible. Raven shuddered at the thought that he father could be involved in this somehow.

Raven heard a noise, suddenly. Sitting in the infirmary was a small silver cart that held several medical supplies on it; someone had just crashed into that cart and fallen on the floor. The cart had fallen over too, and aside from a loud clang that made the goth jump backwards there was the sound of the medical tools scattering all over the floor.

"Azarath Metreon Zinth—"

"RAE IT'S ME!" Beast Boy shouted quickly as he climbed up from the floor.

A nearby table had already been floating in the air, suspended there by Raven's black aura. The lavender-haired youth cursed quietly and returned the table to its proper place, and then she used her powers to clean up the mess Beast Boy had made when he tripped. Beast Boy, meanwhile, had made his way to the edge of Raven's bed and sat down.

"What do you want?" Raven snapped irritably.

"I just wanted to check on you and see how you were doin'." Beast Boy gulped out nervously. He could tell right away that she was not in a good mood, and he knew his noisy entrance wouldn't help improve it.

"I told you before: _I'm fine_." Raven growled.

"Yeah, but . . ." Beast Boy began.

"No 'buts'. I'm fine. Now get out." Raven cut him off, rather rudely. She did not make it a habit to be rude to her fellow Titans, but it happened. She didn't like being treated like a child just because she was injured; and she absolutely hated being scared. Raven didn't do fear; at least not most of the time. Beast Boy's little trip in the dark had shocked her, and she didn't like that one bit.

"If you're so fine, how come your up at midnight worrying?" Beast Boy bravely accused. The green teen normally sunk under Raven's piercing gaze, but not tonight. Something was spurring him on to be brave and bold beneath her brow.

"Hmm. I don't know. Maybe because _certain people_ are making _too much noise_ for me to sleep?"

"You were _already_ awake when I came in Rae." Beast Boy replied, staying bold. "C'mon. Why can't you just admit your upset about earlier?"

Raven let out a large, huffing sigh. She was beaten and she knew it. Raven had known Beast Boy long enough to know that when they argued one of two things always happened. Either she'd manage to frighten him off early on in the fight with her patented blend of sarcasm and 'creepiness'; or he'd become a persistent little bugger and wouldn't leave her alone until she either gave in or something interrupted the fight. The first outcome had failed, and she was too tired to wait on the second.

"Fine. I'm upset about earlier. You would be too if you landed on your spine. Can I get some sleep now?"

"Rae, you wouldn't be asleep even if I left." Beast Boy pointed out, accurately. "So what's it matter if I stay a while?"

Raven, however, was not that dumb. He had been outside her door this morning, and he had stayed at her bedside longer than any of her other friends earlier today when she was first brought to the infirmary. There was something on his mind, and he wanted to talk about it. She wasn't sure if she wanted to listen to it, though. Usually a serious or even semi-serious Beast Boy meant trouble.

"Why don't you just stop messing around and say whatever it is you want to say." Raven said, in an attempt to end this game of charades. Beast Boy sweatdropped.

"What do you mean—"

"Enough." Raven's voice took on an icy tone and she added a warning to the tone of her voice. "You can say what you want to say, or you can leave; but you're **not** going to just sit here all night playing around."

Beast Boy did not like this response. She knew right away. He had something he wanted to say, she knew. She could tell from the way he was squirming on the edge of her bed, and from the way, he was nibbling on his bottom lip.

"I just, well, earlier I wanted to, but since you're in a bad mood I better not, but then again if I don't, well the thing is Raven –"

"Get on with it!" Raven snapped.

Beast Boy recoiled at her anger and she suddenly felt bad. She shouldn't be taking her ill temper out on him like this. Yes, he was annoying and he _was_ asking for it, but he didn't deserve it. She was just grumpy because of her bad day, and the injuries she'd received, and the many worries nagging at her brain right now. Raven sighed.

"Beast Boy . . ." She began, but she never finished the sentence. A moment later Beast Boy threw his arms around her and pulled her off the bed onto the floor. At first she was confused, and very angry; but a flash later the bed they had been sitting on exploded into pieces and glass from the shattered infirmary window showered the room.

"What the hell?" Raven demanded.

"Stay down!" Beast Boy yelled. Apparently, he had spotted something incoming and knocked the two of them to the floor to avoid it. There was a flash of bright red light and the flames burning the bed grew higher and more savage. A second later the fire alarm kicked in and the sprinklers began pouring water down on the room and on the two titans occupying it.

"We have to move." Raven decided. She threw up her arms creating a shield of black energy and began to levitate towards the door. Beast Boy got behind her and opened the door allowing the two of them to escape out into the hallway. Raven used her telepathy to close the door behind them, but mere seconds after it slammed shut it exploded. The force of the blast knocked Raven backwards; she slammed into Beast Boy and both of them went tumbling down the narrow hallway and eventually down the stairs into the living room.

"What's going on?"

The other titans had arrived. Robin's mask was on crooked and his cape was loose around his neck, as if he'd dressed in a hurry. Starfire still had a Tamaranian beauty mask on her face, which was unfortunate since whatever it was made of had a terrible odor. Cyborg was still in that stage of awareness between "Awake" and "Asleep" and he wasn't doing much of anything.

"No clue." Beast Boy replied as he struggled to climb to his feet. He looked down and notice Raven was lying on the floor with a expression of horrible pain soaked into her face. The green teen winced; she had already been beaten earlier, and that fall down the stairs must have been hell on her back. "Rae, you okay?"

Raven was tempted to say something like 'save the stupid questions for later', but she did not. Instead she winced, bit her lip to help her focus on that pain rather than the pain in her back, and using the railing of the stairs she pulled herself up. Robin took a step forward and extended a hand as if to catch her, but Raven shook his offer away and began to levitate.

"I'll be alright." She insisted.

"No you won't."

The Titans looked up and saw a longhaired man with pale skin at the top of the stairs. His skin was as white as fresh snow and his hair as black as the night sky. He wore a black trenchcoat and dark sunglasses that hid his eyes completely. The man also wore fingerless motorcycle gloves.

"You're that creep who was looking at me at the mall." Raven recognized him.

"Yep." The unknown assailant scoffed. "I was disappointed when my flaming friend couldn't finish you off, but this time I'll do it myself."

"You are the one responsible for the fire monsters?" Starfire asked, her eyes turning green and starbolts beginning to charge in her hands.

"Sure am cutie." The man replied, his lips twisting into a sadistic smile. "Name's Savaro. Savaro Deluge. I ain't got no beef with y'all. I'm here fer Raven. She comes with me, and y'all can be spared the deaths I was plannin' fer yer."

"Forget it." Robin said, grabbing and extending his bo-staff.

"I hoped y'all would say that." Savaro grinned. "Time ter die, then."

Savaro jumped into the air and suddenly bright flames illuminated his body. It looked like he was on fire, but the fire didn't seem to harm him at all. Savaro yelled and flames shot from the inferno around him in five separate blasts; one headed at each Titan. Robin did a back flip and avoided the blast sent at him, but it kept going and wound up incinerating the coffee table. Cyborg fired his sonic cannon, which hit the flaming blast in mid-air and the two attacks combined to result in an explosion. Starfire flew up like a bottle rocket and the blast meant for her kept going and crashed into the refrigerator; which was burnt to a crisp instantly.

"Not cool!" Beast Boy yelled as he avoided the blast coming at him by transformed into an ant, dropping on the floor, and then retransforming into his human self. "Not cool at all! My tofu waffles were in there!"

Raven made a shield of black light, which absorbed the blunt of the blast meant for her. She was still thrown backwards, but she caught herself in mid air and wound up floating over the smoldering remains of the coffee table. It was clear that Savaro was no pushover, and probably much more dangerous than his pet fire creature had been.

"Die!" Savaro yelled.

"Wow, I've heard some lame supervillian before, but when you can't even come up with a better taunt than 'die' you've really hit rock bottom." Beast Boy snickered. He transformed into a bee, buzzed up in the air until he was directly overtop of Savaro, and then transformed into an enormous elephant. Savaro jumped forward and rolled down the staircase to avoid the green pachyderm. However, as he tried to stand up at the bottom he was met with a combination attack.

Starfire hurled several starbolts at him, and Robin threw one of his explosive discs. The starbolts barraged him in the chest and he had to throw his arms up to block them; the disc created a huge blast right next to him and his body was thrown across the room like an old dishrag. He wound up flying right through the large glass window and out the side of the tower, shattering glass everywhere.

Starfire and Cyborg, who were closest to the window, both ran over to see what had happened. However, as the pair reached the edge of the broke glass they were both punched hard in the chest by Savaro's fists and thrown across the room. Starfire hit the wall, Cyborg hit Starfire, and they both wound up in a pile on the ground with broken pieces of the wall covering them.

"Not bad, but not good either." Savaro mocked. He had a few cuts from the glass and a couple of bruises from the blasts, but he looked fighting fit. Robin yelled a battle cry and charged forward with his bo-staff. Savaro levitated into the air and flew over Robin's head as he swung the staff. He then placed the foot of his boot on Robin's forehead and pushed with all of his strength. The boy wonder spun around like a top until Savaro brought his left foot forward and kicked him in his neck. Robin fell into the wall, clutching his throat and coughing.

Raven came forward now. Her eyes were glowing black and so were her hands, which she raised above her head. "Azarath Metreon Zinthos!" she cried out in a loud voice and fired black bolts of energy at Savaro. Rather than her normal practice of using her powers to move or bind objects, Raven fired her energy like a razor-sharp missile this time. The twin blasts hit Savaro in his chest and sent him flying backwards into the staircase he stood upon. Savaro screamed out in pain. At least Raven thought pain was the reason, until he started laughing.

Savaro was bleeding now from the corner of his mouth. He wiped some of the thick red blood off his chin and then he spit some more out onto the floor. When he turned his face back in Raven's direction the longhaired man began to laugh. He slowly climbed back up to his feet.

"Yeah. I love it. That's what I'm talkin' 'bout baby! Hit me 'gain, hit me A-gain!" He screamed in a voice full of sick pleasure.

"No problem." Raven sarcastically replied. The couch floated up into the air, covered by her black aura, and flew towards Savaro. Savaro's right fist burst into flames and he punched the couch as it came towards him. It exploded into pieces, which fell all over the room.

Before Raven could react, Savaro had jumped across the room and grabbed her face with his left hand. She saw a bright red light flash in her eyes, and then she saw nothing but black.

Raven passed out and went limp inside Savaro's hand.

She had just fallen into a coma.

**

* * *

**

_**Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, California (Modern Day)**_

Raven's taxicab pulled up outside the convention center and screeched to a halt. The driver was insane, Raven had realized that halfway through the trip. He drove like a lunatic, spoke no English and obviously did not know the traffic laws. Raven quickly handed him a few bills from the stolen wallet and got out of the car quickly. She sighed, happy to be out of the cab, and looked up at the convention center's large dome-shaped building. There was a large white banner with the Space Trek symbol on it with a red arrow pointing at the double-doors that led into the convention center.

There were also hundreds of people in ridiculous costumes pouring inside the center. Raven had seen some pretty dumb outfits in her life (it went with the superhero gig) but some of the costumes here were downright horrible. Sighing, the long-haired young woman fought her way into the crowd of people heading inside, her copy of Gar's book in one hand, the other hand was used to help fight her way through people. She wound up in line behind a man who had painted his skin blue and was wearing a neon green outfit. The color contrast hurt her eyes just to look at him. The person behind her was a young woman who wore a ridiculous looking skin-tight purple outfit with fake wings on the back.

As bad as some of the outfits were, she began to notice a trend. Several people wore black-and-purple jumpsuits that she recognized as Beast Boy's old costume. Even more people had painted themselves green, both skin and hair, and already she'd been on the verge of saying hello to people she mistook for her lost friend.

_He just had to make his character on the show look and dress exactly like him, didn't he?_ Raven though as she wadded through people in the crowded convention hall. Several people were buying and selling collectables at various booths. There were comics, movies; she even saw an action figure that looked like Beast Boy. She hated to imagine how swollen his head had gotten from all of the fans.

On the ceiling of the enormous room were several hanging TV sets, each one playing a different episode of "Space Trek". She found that her eyes constantly fled up to those screens whenever the green-faced star was on. Beast Boy looked surprisingly good after ten years. He was still on the short side, and he still had that same goofy looking grin. On one of the TV screens that was playing an early episode of Space Trek, Beast Boy had a horrible looking mustache. On another TV set that played a more recent episode, he was clean-shaven. Raven just shook her head.

After about fifteen minutes of wandering through the crowd, Raven was able to find a small area set aside where people were sitting at round tables eating their lunches. She wasn't having any fun at all, and already she had a headache. There was a lot of loud, random talking all around her and it annoyed her. It wasn't until she sat down at one of the tables, though, that something caught her eye.

She was a young woman wearing a long blue cape with a matching hood. Raven's eyes widened a bit at the costume. It was almost identical to the kind of cape she'd worn in her days as a titan. This one had one of the Space Trek crests on the front, though, just like the rest of the character uniforms. Raven suddenly remembered something she'd read in Gar's book.

_I guess of all my friends from my days as a superhero, I miss Raven the most. I suppose this is because she is the only one I cannot see anymore. I'm still in touch with Robin, Cyborg and Starfire and talk to them on a semi-regular basis, but Raven is another story. She's in a coma now, has been for a little over ten years. It was a real blow to me when it happened to her. I know nothing lasts forever, and I became use to losing important people after my parents and Terra all died on me, but I don't think I'll ever really get over losing Raven. I guess mostly I regret not being more honest with her back then. I used to have a mad crush on her, even now it's a bit embarrassing to admit it. I doubt anything ever would have happened between us, but I still look in the mirror every now and then and wonder if things would have been different if I'd said something. I know it sounds stupid to still be hung up on a girl I secretly liked after ten years, but just like my character on the show, I simply can't forget_.

When she had first read that passage, and first learned of Beast Boy's "mad crush" on her, it had explained some things. It helped to give a possible reason as to what he had been trying to tell her the day she had her run in with Savaro Deluge and the flame creature. She hadn't understood that last part, about his character on the show, but now she was beginning to see.

There was a character based on Raven on the show. Raven closed her eyes at realizing this. He had turned her into a Space Trek character. That was so . . . Gar.

That was when someone picked up a microphone. The loud, massive talking all seemed to hush instantly as a dramatic announcer began to speak.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Space Trek fans of all ages! It is my proud honor to present the genius writer, producer and star of our beloved Space Trek, Gaaaaaaarfield Looooooogan!"

Raven cast her eyes up to the stage and then she saw him. Beast Boy. He had appeared with that same goofy grin on his aged face. Ten years hadn't changed him all that much. His hair was lush and green, and just as messy as it had been when she last saw him. He had the same tiny fangs sticking out of his mouth, and he wore his Space Trek costume; which was identical to his Teen Titans uniform.

Gar took the microphone from the man and began addressing the crowd. Raven knew in an instant she'd been right about his oversized ego.

"Hello, hello, hello ladies!" Gar shouted. "And dudes." He added as an afterthought. This garnished a few laughs. "Welcome to the fifth annual Space Trek Con! Are you all having fun?"

There were loud shouts from the audience. Instead of screaming "Yes" they used some weird word that Raven didn't understand. She guessed it had something to do with the show.

"Dudes and dudettes, as you all know this year is Space Trek's final season." Garfield said, his voice taking a somber tone and his head lowering. The crowd's enthusiasm died down. "And have I got a big twist of a series finale for you! But I can't talk about that now. Anyway, Myself and the rest of our very talented cast will be here all day, so if you want an autograph, or if you just wanna hang out, come say hi. We'll be at the reserved booths up here. Oh, and don't forget to donate to the Logan Anti-Meat Fund."

Raven raised an eyebrow. The Logan Anti-Meat Fund? She did not know what that was about, but she did not really want too, either. Raven hurried into the crowd of people lining up to get Beast Boy's autograph. It was amazing to her that this was actually happening. She remembered back in Jump City, ten years ago, Beast Boy would offer his autograph to every teenage girl in the city; not one of them ever took it, to her knowledge. Now he had hundreds of people fighting in line to get his autograph. Sure, most of them were middle-aged men and not teenage girls, but that was beside the point.

Raven didn't know what was worse: the crowd, the line, the chit-chat around her or the television above her. The crowd was thick and noisy, and the line was slow moving. The chitchat was mostly chatter about the show, or about how magnificent Gar was (Raven could feel a headache coming on) and the television above her head was replaying an episode of Space Trek. Eventually Raven, realizing the line was so long she'd be here for a while, allowed her mind to drift off.

She would deny it till the day she died, but she let curiosity get the best of her and she started eavesdropping in on the Space Trek buffs in front of her. A short man in costume that resembled a blue Chewbacca, and a girl who was wearing what looked like a futuristic skimpy maid's uniform.

"I still say that they'll bring her back for the series finale." The blue Chewbacca-like man was saying.

"No way. They've had so many episodes and never even shown her, except in flashbacks." The maid said.

"No, no, she was in episode 231: 'The Galactic Senate Crumbles'." The blue Chewbacca replied. "Of course they didn't show her face, they never do. But they showed the infirmary wing of the ship."

Raven was beginning to question on whether or not this was a good idea. She could have found Beast Boy someplace else. She should have just talked to him at his Hollywood Hills mansion. She should never have come to this place. Everyone here seemed to be a combination of Beast Boy and Control Freak. It was driving her mad.

"She'll wake up in the series finale I bet." Blue Chewbacca boldly predicted.

"No way, that'd ruin the whole show. You know Captain Lowery has been searching for a cure for the entire series." Skimpy space-maid replied.

"That's exactly why she's bound to wake up in the last one, duh." Blue Chewbacca insisted.

"No way, didn't you read Logan's autobiography? Sparrow's character is based on his real life lost-love. That means Lowery can't save her because Logan could never save his real life-love. It'll be a tragic ending." Skimpy space-maid explained.

Raven was beginning to become interested in this conversation. There seemed to be many things that she believed, unfortunately, might involve her in some way. She was now convinced that Beast Boy had based some character on her. The earlier costume and this conversation seemed to seal the deal.

The line moved so slowly that Raven wound up watching and entire two episodes of "Space Trek" on the above head TV before she finally reached the front. In all honesty, she hated the show with every fiber of her being. It was overdramatic, most of the acting was overdone, and she absolutely hated the sci-fi genre. However, seeing Gar on the screen did make her surprisingly calm. Mainly because she saw how very Beast Boy-like he was on the show. He – at least the him on TV – had not changed that much.

It also finally answers her question. Apparently, the entire premise of Gar's version of Space Trek was based more or less on real life. His character, Captain Gary Lowery, was the commander of a spaceship. He had fallen in love with the princess of a space demon colony, who had been placed under a sleeping spell, and the series revolved around him traveling the galaxy to explore brave new worlds and boldly go where no one has gone before while searching for a way to reverse the spell.

His character was in love with a girl who was stuck under a sleeping spell and just happened to be the daughter of an evil space demon; and to top it all off she was named Sparrow, like the bird. Raven could not believe he'd actually turned her into a character on the show – much less a character who seemed to drive the plot while never appearing onscreen. It was flattering, in a way; but it was also annoying.

After two hours of standing in line, Raven finally made it to the front. She was exhausted, hungry and she had a headache. Still, the chance to finally reunite with Beast Boy and possibly get some answers was enough to drive her on.

However, when she arrived at the area where all the stars were sitting she found there was no green skinned man to be found anywhere. Her eyes scanned each of the tables until she realized he was gone. She quickly approached one of the other actors.

"Where did Garfield Logan go?" She asked.

"Sorry, you just missed him. He just left to go home for the day. He'll be back tomorrow for day two of the convention, catch him then." The actor said.

_All the demons in hell couldn't drag me back here for day two._ Raven though, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she sighed and headed for the first exit she saw. Once she was outside Raven found herself in the rear parking lot. She sighed, slumped her back against the wall of the convention center, and fell down to a sitting position. She hugged her knees to her chest and rested her forehead on her knees. She had failed. She came to find Beast Boy; and she failed.

All she had to show for her day was a growling stomach, a throbbing headache, and a whole lot of sci-fi trivia she'd never be able to forget; no matter how hard she tried. What was worse, the cab ride over here had used up the last of her finances. She was broke, alone and stuck in the middle of Los Angeles, still ten years behind everyone else.

_Well Raven, no use crying now._ She thought. _You have no money, no food and no resources. You have no memory and there's got to be something weird going on with those doctors and your coma. This isn't the time to fall to pieces. You just need a new plan_.

"Excuse me, Miss?" A voice suddenly spoke in her ear. "You okay?"

Someone must have found her sitting like this against the building and assumed things were going bad for the lavender-haired young woman; which they were.

"I'm . . . fine." Raven lied.

"Uh huh." The voice replied. "You a Space Trek fan?"

Raven looked down at the ground beside her, where her copy of Gar's book lay next to her feet. She must really give off a "I dislike Space Trek" vibe, because people kept asking her that despite the fact she was at the convention, and despite the fact she had Logan's book.

"Not really." Raven replied casually. "I actually only came here because I used to know Gar Logan. I wanted to talk to him, but he already left."

"You knew him?" The person behind her sounded suspicious now.

"A long time ago, I did." Raven replied, becoming annoying. This guy clearly wouldn't believe that, and he probably wasn't going to go away either.

"Hmm. Strange. I've known him for years. He doesn't have too many friends I don't know about." The voice replied.

Suddenly Raven's eyes became wide. There was something familiar about that voice. It was different, but everyone's voice changes in ten years. There was that same deep tone she remembered. She could remember him shouting at Beast Boy for getting tofu on the leather seats of the T-Car. She could also remember that voice yelling while playing video games. But mostly the word 'Booyah' seemed to replay in her head as she thought about it. Raven lifted her head up and turned around.

A tall man stood behind her. His skin was a rich chocolate color blended together with the metallic white and neon blue of his artificial body. His human skin had aged a little, but the rest of him was exactly as she remembered him. Raven felt a smile twitch on her lips. It was her first real smile since waking up from her coma.

"Cyborg?"

**

* * *

**

**A/N**: Once again, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Again, I was amazed by all the reviews. **_THANK YOU SO MUCH_**! I feel loved. XD. I know you expected Raven and BB to reunite in this chapter, but I put it off again 'cause I got some new ideas I'm sure you'll like. Anyway, chapter four is coming VERY soon. Keep the feedback coming, it makes me write fasted. –wink, wink-


	4. Long Awaited Explanations

**Ten Years Later**

**By**

**Brandon "GoldenSama" Rice**

**Chapter Four **

"Long-Awaited Explanations"

**A/N**: This one is dedicated to **Mirielle**, who taught me something about grammar that I did not know with her last review, and I am truly thankful for that. Honestly, it's time like this I realize how much better a writer I would be if I'd stayed awake in English class. XD J/K! I was always awake for English class; my nap time was Math. –wink, wink-

Also, a couple of you did get the clues, but for those who did not here are the answers to the word play:  
**He**ll **Is**n't **In**ner **Got**hic **Ham**burger **City**scape **And**erson **He**ck **Is**n't **Night**mare **Wing**ing.

And the Starfire thing was meant to show she is now working as a fashion model, like in the comics. Actually, aside from Raven and Cyborg, everyone's doing something they did in the comics; just in slightly different ways. I like wordplays, I may make another one later…

Anyway, here is chapter four. It will finally reveal how the Titans broke up.

**

* * *

**

_**A Coffeehouse, Los Angeles, California (Modern Day)**_

". . . and that's the whole story." Raven finished retelling her tale. She was sitting in a small Coffeehouse in downtown Los Angeles, a few blocks away from the convention center. Cyborg was sitting across from her eating up her every word as she filled him in one everything that had happened since she woke up.

Cyborg was astonished. After doing a classic cartoon double take at realizing who Raven was there was a brief period of time in which he merely rambled and freaked out, repeatedly using statements like 'I don't believe this', 'It's really you' and 'Wow'. After he came to a grip with the reality of the situation, he asked her the obvious question. 'What happened?'

Raven had agreed to fill him in on everything she knew, but she asked that they do it over lunch. She still hadn't eaten a thing aside from the airline peanuts since she woke up, and she could no longer stand it. Cyborg had agreed and he took her down to the Coffeehouse. Coffeecake and a latté wasn't exactly a feast, but Raven was truly grateful to finally have a meal. Cyborg had been patient while she ate, but the second she finished her meal he bombarded her with questions like an anxious child. Raven shook her head and launched into an explanation, retelling her entire story from her awakening in Maryland to coming to the convention.

"That's amazing Rae," Cyborg said at last, shaking his head. "Sounds like you've had one hellova time these last couple of days."

"No kidding." Raven replied, leaning back against the booth they were sharing. She sat there like that for a minute, and then she leaned in over the table closer to him, propping herself up on her elbows. "Now it's _my_ turn to ask some questions."

Cyborg nodded. "I figured you'd have some. Shoot, I'll answer whatever I can."

"What happened?" Raven asked simply. It was all she needed to ask. She wanted to know everything. She wanted to know why the Titans had broken up, where they were now, how she'd wound up in a hospital in Maryland, what happened with Savaro Deluge ten years ago; and everything else one can imagine.

"Well, after that Savaro guy attacked you things got . . . messy." Cyborg said in a somber voice. "When he let go of your head you fell on the ground and stopped moving. You looked . . . dead. We all kind of flipped out, but BB, well; he got mad Rae . . . real mad . . ."

**

* * *

**

_**Titans Tower (Ten Years Ago)**_

Raven's body hit the floor with a thud and Savaro began to laugh like a lunatic. He had finished his assignment and he knew Trigon would be pleased with his work. Everything was going perfectly according to plan, and now he only had to kill the other four titans and things would be perfect. Savaro turned to see their shocked faced and he kicked Raven's limp form out of his walkway as he approached the others.

"Like I told yer befer, yerh all gonna die!"

The Titans all took to this in horror. They did not realize that Raven was merely comatose; to them she appeared dead and lifeless. Emotions were running high and the Titans were in full battle mode now. Robin leapt forward with a mighty cry, swinging his bo-staff. Savaro's hand began to shimmer with red light and a moment later flames spewed from his fingertips, engulfing the boy wonder and sending him reeling onto the ground. Robin screamed and had to act fast. He set off one of his freezing discs on his belt so that the icy mist covered his body and extinguished the flames. Unfortunately, this resulted in Robin being iced over and unable to move well.

Savaro took advantage of his body being covered in pieces of ice to jump forward and kick him in his chest. Robin flew across the room and smashed into a wall. The ice around him shattered, but he wound up sinking to the floor barely able to move.

Starfire screamed and charged at Savaro. She was hurling starbolts without regard. Raven and Robin had both been savagely taken out and the Tamaranian was angrier now than she had ever been before. Her powers are driven by emotion, and the starbolts she was hurling were unfathomably powerful. When they exploded they created huge blasts and destroyed whatever they hit. Several missed shots wound up blowing holes in the floor and walls of Titan's Tower. Savaro, however, put up his hands in front of him and created a shield of flames which absorbed the starbolts energy. Then he snapped his fingers and the flame shield balled up into a giant fireball that began to fly straight at Starfire. She squeaked and ducked down to avoid it. The fireball went out the window, but as Starfire got back up she was caught in the jaw by Savaro's foot and sent sprawling out of the newly-broken window right behind the fireball.

"Starfire!" Cyborg was the closets to the window, and he reached his arm out in an attempt to catch the Tamaranian. Unfortunately, he could not reach her; and even more unfortunately, Savaro used this as a perfect chance to deliver an uppercut to Cyborg's chin. The half-man, half-machine stumbled backwards a few steps and tripped on the arm of one of the chairs in the room. He fell and landed on the ground, and Savaro kicked him in the face repeatedly.

A flash later Savaro wound up on his back for a change. Robin had recovered and managed to land a smack in Savaro's face with his bo-staff. Savaro was reeling from the injury, but before he could recover, Starfire reappeared at the window, her eyes glowing with fury. She fired a pair of starbolts that hit the ground next to Savaro and blew the floor open. Savaro fell right through the floor into the garage, where he landed on his back.

"We have too –" Robin started to say as he panted, but before he could finished a large green monster ran right past him and jumped into the hole in the floor after Savaro.

While his friends had been fighting Savaro, Beast Boy had run to the fallen Raven. At first, he merely cradled her in his arms, repeatedly saying her name and trying to wake her up. When that failed, he began to become hysterical, screaming at her to get up and eventually poking her in the face. With no response, he assumed the worst; and that got him mad.

It made him mad enough to unleash The Beast; Beast Boy's most powerful and deadly transformation. The Beast landed right on top of the fallen Savaro and grabbed the man in his arms. He let out a terrible roar and threw Savaro across the room as if he was an old sack of potatoes. Savaro smashed into the wall with a sickening thud. The dark-haired man let out a scream, and this time it came from pain rather than pleasure.

The Beast charged forward, without remorse, and began to hammer away at Savaro. He showered him with blows from his massive green fists of fury, and swiped at him with his long, sharp nails. Savaro threw up his arms to defend himself but it didn't help much. The Beast swiped its claws along the length of Savaro's arms and cut them open. Blood spattered from his slashed veins and drenched The Beast's green fur and the wall and floor around them. The Beast grabbed each of Savaro's arms with one of his hands and pulled them away from his face. He pulled so hard Savaro's arms broke with a sickening crunch of bone and flesh. Savaro screamed again, and this time there was no mistaking the pain in his voice.

"Enough! Enough! You win!" Yerh da winner!" Savaro cried out.

The Beast did not stop. It continued to pummel Savaro coldly in the face, without remorse, until Cyborg and the others arrived. Cyborg threw his arms around The Beast's left arm and caught his punch in mid-air. Savaro was lying against the wall, blood oozing from his nose and mouth, his eyes swelling up and turning black. The man panted and then he began to cough; as he hacked, he coughed up blood, which trickled down his beard.

The Beast tried to shake his arm loose of Cyborg's grasp. It was not until Starfire grabbed his other arm that the two were able to force The Beast away from Savaro. Finally, The Beast stopped struggling in their arms and slowly reverted into Beast Boy. The green teen was panting heavily when Cyborg and Starfire let go of him.

Beast Boy fell onto his knees and looked down at his green hands; which were stained with Savaro's blood. The longhaired attacked was still in the corner, now bent over and breathing heavily. Savaro's arms were still at awkward angles at his sides, and he was actually sobbing openly over his broken form. Beast Boy looked up at him with his green eyes wide with horror.

He had snapped. He had lost it. He had almost killed someone.

However, he did not care. Part of him was horrified that he could feel this much hatred for someone. Part of him was sick to his stomach to see another person's blood on his hands, and even sicker at the notion that he enjoyed drawing that blood. Still, all the while a little voice was reminding him of how much Savaro deserved what he got. Savaro had killed Raven. He deserved to die. Beast Boy could feel that hatred returning.

Suddenly Robin was there, standing in front of all of them. He had not followed Cyborg and Starfire downstairs; he had been up at Raven's side. The boy wonder turned to his fellow Titans with a mixed expression on his face.

"Cyborg, get this guy to the holding cell. We'll deal with him later." Robin ordered, and Cyborg nodded his head, scooped the defeated Savaro up in his metallic arms, and carried the enemy towards the part of the tower that housed their holding cell. Beast Boy turned to Robin with tears forming in his eyes.

"That guy killed Raven." Beast Boy said as sadness and anger clashed together in his voice. "We have too –""

"Raven isn't dead, Beast Boy." Robin said instantly. Beast Boy blinked a few tears away and looked at Robin with wide eyes; the way a child would look at Santa Clause.

"She isn't?"

"No. I checked her out, and moved her to the infirmary." Robin explained.

"Oh glorious!" Starfire shouted happily, clapping her hands together. "I had feared for her . . ." The Tamaranian hung her head and became silent.

"There's no telling when she'll wake up. Whatever that Savaro guy did to her definitely hurt her bad. Someone should keep watch on her tonight –"

"I'll do it." Beast Boy volunteered right away. He still had that worried expression on his face, and Robin nodded. Beast Boy quickly left the garage, headed up the stairs, and did not stop moving until he reached the infirmary.

**

* * *

**

_**A Coffeehouse, Los Angeles, California (Modern Day)**_

". . . He actually stayed there, all night?" Raven asked Cyborg as she took another sip of her coffee.

"Yeah. He didn't leave your bedside once all night; or the next day. When you hadn't woken up by noon, Robin got paranoid and started running all kinds of neurological tests. That's when we realized you were in a coma. BB freaked. Hell, we all did."

Raven leaned back against the seat of the booth. She had so many things on her mind right now. She could not make sense of any of this. Savaro . . . who was he? What had he wanted with her? She hoped she would get her answers as Cyborg finished retelling the story. She looked up at him with expecting eyes, but he lowered his head.

"What?" She asked, dreading his answer.

"It's nothing. I just . . . Rae, things got bad after that." Cyborg gulped. Obviously, the rest of the story was even worse than the beginning. "We waited a couple of days to see if you might get better, but when you didn't Robin decided to send you to a specialist doctor. Only thing was, there were no specialist in Jump City."

"That explains how I wound up in Maryland." Raven muttered.

"Actually first we sent you to Metropolis." Cyborg corrected. "A special facility there. Supposed to be the best hospital in the world for treating these kinds of things. Anyway, after you were gone things got . . . bad."

"Yeah, you've mentioned that. Mind explaining what you mean by 'bad'?" Raven asked.

"Well, BB and Star were both depressed without you around. BB crashed out on the couch for a few days watching reruns of 'Space Trek'. Nothing could get that boy out of his depression. Star's powers quit working 'cause the only emotion she was feeling was sadness. Robin saw what was happening to the team, so he vowed to find a way to wake you up, and you know how that guy is when he sets his mind of something. It was like his Slade-tracking days all over again." Cyborg recalled with sadness in his voice.

Raven didn't say anything. Now she understood why the team had broken up. She understood it all too well – it was because of her. The strain put on the team from her coma had caused rifts that broke them apart.  
"With BB depressed, and Star's powers out-of-commission, well, crime fighting was a little too hard." Cyborg sighed. "Robin became moody and distant, from being so obsessed. Then one day, Robin started getting on BB's case for just sitting there depressed. They got into a huge fight. That was the fight that ended the Teen Titans . . ."

**

* * *

**

_**Titans Tower (Ten Years Earlier)**_

Beast Boy was sitting on the couch with a dead look on his face. He had crumbs and syrup all over his face and down the front of his shirt from the tofu waffles he'd eaten for breakfast. He was staring lifelessly at the television set, clicking from channel to channel every few seconds. Starfire was in the corner of the room, sitting in one of the armchairs. She also had a look of pure depression on her face and her large green eyes had dark circles under them from lack of sleep. Both of the titans let out sighs at the same time as the channels flipped.

Robin walked into the room. His hair had not been gelled and his face looked tired. He'd been up all night on the phone with Raven's doctors, demanding that they work better and become angry when they told him there was nothing else they could do. Robin looked down at the two and he sighed.

"Beast Boy, we need to talk." Robin announced. Cyborg, who was in the kitchen grilling bacon, looked up with a nervous look on his face.

"What is it dude?" Beast Boy asked, his voice drained of all emotion.

"You need to get up and do something." Robin said. "You've been sitting on that couch for a week."

"I got up." Beast Boy insisted.

"When?" Robin questioned.

"A few minutes ago. I went and took a dump, then I came back." Beast Boy explained. Robin was not amused.

"Beast Boy, this isn't a healthy way of dealing with this." Robin tried to tell his friend.

"Oh and sitting in your room brooding and doing the whole 'red-x' obsession trip all over again is a healthier way?" Beast Boy asked, his voice both sarcastic and rude.

"Beast Boy," Robin began, and it was clear from his tone that he was trying not to get angry. "I realize you're upset about Raven. We all are. That isn't an excuse for you to act this way. I know how you're feeling but –"

"The hell you do." Beast Boy snapped. "You don't know the first thing about how I'm feeling right now, Robin. So just butt-out!"

"Beast Boy, I understand that you're upset about Raven; but I won't let you use that as an excuse to slack off and treat the rest of us like jerks." Robin warned him in a dangerous vocal tone.

"What're you gonna do about it?" Beast Boy asked.

"Friends!" Starfire interrupted, jumping up from her seat. "Please cease the fighting!"

"Butt-out Star." Beast Boy snapped.

"Stop it Beast Boy!" Robin's tone finally rose to a shouting level. "Starfire didn't do anything to deserve that. None of us have. Now knock it off."

"Dude, I have news for you. You might be Mr. Leader on the missions, but when it's off-time, you don't tell me what to do with my life." Beast Boy replied bitterly, turning around to glare at Robin.

"Off-time? Beast Boy, you've skipped the last two missions we went on. You haven't left this tower _in a week_. And as long as you're a part of this team, you _will_ listen to me." Robin was becoming upset with this argument, and it was showing.

"Screw you!" Beast Boy replied in a juvenile way.

"Please stop this!" Starfire pleaded with them.

"That's it. Get out." Robin declared, pointing an angry green-gloved fist at the front door.

"'scue me?" Beast Boy replied.

"Get out. If you're not going to act like a member of this team, you won't be one." Robin stated coldly.

There was a pause. No one spoke, and all breathing was minimal. Then Beast Boy stood up, slammed the remote control down on the coffee table, and said "Fine," very loudly. The green teen stomped past Robin and up the stairs towards his room. The second Beast Boy's door slammed shut, Starfire and Cyborg began speaking at once.

"Robin, dude, that was harsh."

"Friend Robin you must not treat Beast Boy this way."

"I only told him what he needed to hear." Robin replied, turning his back on both of them. "He won't really leave." Robin's face suddenly took an uneasy feeling to it.

A few minutes later, Beast Boy reappeared at the top of the stairs holding two suitcases crammed full of his stuff. He walked right past the other titans and towards the front door. Starfire flew and quickly blocked his path.

"Please, do not go! Robin apologizes for his harsh words and wishes for you to stay!" Starfire pleaded.

"No, I don't." Robin said quickly from where he sat on the couch.

"You don't want him to stay?" Cyborg asked, outraged.

"No, I don't apologize. Beast Boy's welcome to stay if he starts acting like a member of this team again. If he's just going to sulk around all day, then he's free to go." Robin explained.

"Don't worry," Beast Boy said with a sob in his throat. "I'm leaving, and I'm not coming back."

Beast Boy pushed his way past Starfire, walked out of the tower, and then he transformed into a pterodactyl and flew away, carrying his suitcases in his talons. Starfire's eyes welled up with tears and she flew to Robin, outraged.

"How can you be so cruel?" Starfire demanded.

"He'll come back Star." Robin insisted.

"Robin, I have always trusted you. You are my friend. You are _more_ than my friend; but right now you are behaving like a, a, a klorvex-hopcrot!" Starfire shouted, her eyes steaming down tears and her voice filled with bitter anger. The alien princess turned around and flew back to her room. She slammed the door shut so hard it caused the wall around it to crack.

"Starfire . . ." Robin sighed and hung his head.

"Dude, I agree with her, you are a klorvex-hopcrot." Cyborg, who had once learned Tamaranian when he powered himself up with a microchip, said.

"Do I even want to know what that means?" Robin asked sadly.

"Let's just put it this way; I wouldn't plan on asking Star out again, if I were you." Cyborg replied. "You need to go apologize to BB."

"No." Robin said, standing up and shaking his head. "It's my decision to make, and you and Starfire will just have to deal with it."

"You mean he will just have to deal with it."

Starfire had reappeared in the room, she had two large purple suitcases under her arms. Robin's eyes widened in a panic the second he saw them.

"Star, what are you doing?" He asked.

"I too am leaving." Starfire informed him. "You do not want depressed people around, so I will be going."

"Starfire, wait!"

Before he could say another word, Starfire flew out of the front door and slammed it shut behind her. She hadn't flown once since Raven's coma, but now her emotions (anger seemed to be the biggest one) were back and in full force. Robin sighed and lowered his head once again.

"What did I do?" He asked himself.

"I think you just ruined the team. Way to go." Cyborg replied. "And since I agree with 'em, I'm going too. Sorry Rob."

Cyborg clapped his friend on the back and went to his room to pack.

**

* * *

**

_**A Coffeehouse, Los Angeles, California (Modern Day)**_

". . . and I left too." Cyborg finished the story. Raven was staring at him wide-eyed and horrorstricken.

"So the team broke up because of me?" Raven asked in a quiet voice.

"No, we broke up because Robin was acting like a jackass and BB was sulking like a baby." Cyborg replied.

". . . and they acted that way because of me."

"Yeah. Sorry Rae." Cyborg sighed.

"What happened to them?" Raven asked, desperation in her voice. She had to know what had become of the team.

"Well, BB and Star both went to the hospital to visit you. I found 'em there. We stayed at the hospital for a few days. Robin came by and apologized, tried to put the team back together; but we wound up getting into another argument at the hospital. When we were there, Star ran into some dude who worked for a fashion magazine in New York. He offered her modeling job. She was real reluctant at first, but eventually he talked her into it. BB and I stayed at the hospital with you for a while. Then, after Star's first magazine appearance, we went to go visit her in New York. When we were there BB met some of the producers of Space Trek in a Coffeehouse. They recognized him from TV and said hi. He started telling them about his show ideas, and they wound up signing him on as a writer. BB's new Space Trek came out and it was a hit. After the first season, he started using his money as an actor and writer to produce the show too, y'know? It became such a hit he was a multi-millionaire by the end of the second season. He gave me a job making props for the show, and BB and I have been living out here ever since. Star's modeling career really took off. She's one of the top fashion models in the world. As for Robin, he wound up going back to Gotham. Hung out with Batman for a while, then Batman got injured and he became 'Nightwing' and took over the duties of watching Gotham."

Raven sat in silence for a few minutes. Now she knew. Now she knew what had become of the people she once called 'friends' in the ten years since her coma. The entire story was out. Raven had not thought about it until now, but she suddenly felt completely alone and isolated from the world. This wasn't her world; not the one she remembered.

What had she been hoping for? Had she expected to find them all still together, fighting crime like the old days? Had she expected to just waltz back into their lives and suddenly have things go back to the way they were? No. Raven was too much of a realist to expect those things. However, deep down inside she had hoped for them. She wished with every fiber of her being that she would wake up, and this would all have been a bad dream. She longed for the old tower and for the old days. She would have paid any price just to hear Cyborg and Beast Boy argue over tofu and bacon. She would have happily let Starfire drag her off to the mall for a boring day of shopping. She wished she could be on the old training field, sharpening her skills with Robin.

None of that would happen. She realize the Titans were history, and her return would not change that. Now she really had a problem. She did not know what to do with her life. What did this new world have to offer her? What choices did she have? What could she possibly do with herself now?

"You want to go see BB?" Cyborg suddenly asked, breaking her concentration. She looked up at him and he smiled at her reassuringly. "I know he'd want to see you."

"I . . . don't think so." Raven replied quiet.

"No, trust me, he'd want to see you." Cyborg replied.

"No, I mean . . . I don't think I want to see him." Raven explained. "I . . . I have to go."

Raven stood up and started away from the table; Cyborg quickly stopped her by grabbing onto her arm. She struggled against his grip to try to free herself, but she was nowhere near strong enough to break free. She sighed and let him push her down into the seat once again.

"Rae, I can't even imagine how hard this is on you." Cyborg sighed. "And I'm sorry it happened. But face facts girl; you've got no life here. You've got nothing but questions. Now I can't answer all of 'em, and I doubt BB can either, but I do know he'll help you. And he's connected Rae. Those creepy doctors you told me about, BB can make some calls, pull some strings; I know he can help you out, and I know he'd want too."

"But I –"

"Raven," Cyborg cut her off. "You were in a coma for ten years. I know you're confused, and I know this probably sucks worse than anything I could even begin to imagine, but I'm still your friend; and so is BB. We'll help you, if you let us."

Raven sighed. She did not want to be alone. She sighed and stood up once again. "Fine. Let's go see Beast Boy."

Cyborg smiled. "'Atta girl. I'll pay the check."

**

* * *

**

"My lord, what are your plans regarding Raven?"

In the midst of his dark universe, Trigon the Terrible was sitting on his stone throne, looking out over the lava-covered wasteland that he ruled-over. At his side was a small demon who looked up at his master after proposing the question.

"The same as they have always been." Trigon replied in a murderous voice. "She will open the portal and allow me to enter the Earth. Then I shall turn the Earth into my new throne; and mankind shall be made into my slaves, or annihilated."

"Indeed, indeed . . ." The demon replied. "But surely my master, you must know of the, ah, complications."

Trigon turned his enormous head down to the demon. "What complications? Do you refer to that infidel Slade and his plans concerning my daughter?"

"Indeed." The demon replied, once again.

"Hah! Slade is a fool and a mortal. His plans are doomed to fail. However, he does play a role in the grand scheme of things."

"Does he now?" The curious demon asked.

"Oh _yes_." Trigon replied with a sadistic grin spreading across his red face. "Slade will be of huge importance to my plans. In fact, I have already taken steps to ensure that his plans are set into motion. Slade Wilson will be doing me a favor."

"Oh?" The curious demon wanted to know more detail, but Trigon just scoffed at him.

"How dare you continue these questions? By doing so you infer that, you could possibly understand the genius concept of Trigon the Great; which you most certainly cannot! You need not be concerned any longer my minion. All you need to know is that rivers will run red with blood, the sky shall burn like fire, and all the Earth shall tremble beneath my might feet. We must wait on Slade's ambition. Depend on his greed. When the time is right, I shall strike, and I shall be victorious."

Trigon waved one of his massive arms and the sky around him opened into a portal. He looked through and saw Raven and Cyborg climbing into the car, driving towards Beast Boy's Hollywood mansion.

"Enjoy your reunion with your friends, Raven. Enjoy it while you can. Because the next reunion you have will be with **me**."

Trigon's dark laughter filled the skies of his dimension. The small demon began to chuckle as well, which was unfortunate for him. Trigon was very hungry, and upon remembering the small demons presence he reached down and grabbed him by the throat. He picked the small demon up, snapped his neck, and tossed him into his mouth for a snack.

**

* * *

**

Raven felt her chest tighten. Her heart was beating faster than she could ever remember it doing. She was in the passenger seat of Cyborg's car; which was a remake of the original T-Car, although this new version was highly supped up and had even more features than the original. The car had just stopped outside the large gates that led up to Beast Boy's mansion.

"You okay?" Cyborg asked, noticing her reaction.

"I'm fine." She lied. "I'm perfectly fine. I just need a minute."

Cyborg nodded, he understood. He understood a lot better than she thought he did. Then Cyborg looked up to see several men approaching them from the other side of the iron gate. Four of the men wore black suits with black ties and black sunglasses; but the fifth man, the one in front, wore a white suit with a pink undershirt, a yellow tie and black sunglasses. Cyborg groaned.

"Who are they?" Raven asked.

"Trouble." Cyborg replied with an upset tone in his voice. "Big trouble."

**

* * *

**

**A/N**: I do hope this one was enjoyed by all. A quick note on Beast Boy becoming The Beast -- He is able to turn into The Beast in "The End", or so I have been told; so I do believe it counts as being canonical that he can do it here.


	5. Many Reunions

**Ten Years Later**

**By**

**Brandon "GoldenSama" Rice**

**Chapter Five **

"Many Reunions"

**A/N**: Well, everybody probably got the last word puzzle, the one I did in my review reply to Willow; because I forgot to un-bold the correct answers. XD! I'm such an idiot sometimes. Anyway, to make up for that mistake I have another new word at the end of today's chapter, and this time I didn't forget to unbold the right answers. This one dedicated to **A Pleasant Reader**, who helped me out quite a bit with grammar errors in the last chapter. It's always nice to meet someone who can point out mistakes in a **nice** way, rather than just flaming like most people do. Thank you very much, my friend, and enjoy.

Oh, and the suspense is finally over. Raven and Gar shall reunite in this chapter, and we'll get to see Nightwing! You may rejoice!

**

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**

_**Just Outside Garfield Logan's Mansion, Hollywood California**_

Judging from the way Cyborg had reacted to seeing the five men approaching, Raven assumed they were in danger. She balled her pale fists and black light began to shimmer around them. As soon as Cyborg noticed this, he quickly shook his head.

"Whoa, settle down Raven. They're not a threat . . . just annoying."

Raven's eyes reverted to normal and the aura around her hands disappeared. She was growing more curious with each passing second as to whom these shadily dressed men might be, and what their connection was to Beast Boy. When the group arrived at the other side of the gate, Cyborg opened the driver's door of the T-Car and stepped out. He walked up to the gate and stood face to face with the man in the white suit.

The man in white was taller than the men in black. He had a small goatee and mustache that was black like the rest of his hair. The hair on his head was greasy and slicked back with too much gel. His pencil-thin mustache and dark sunglasses added to the picture and he looked like some mobster from a B-rate movie. Raven didn't like him from the get go.

"Vicky baby, you're late." The man in white said. His voice had a greasy quality to it that made Raven shudder; and the fact that he'd called Cyborg 'Vicky baby' only added to her instant distrust and dislike of the unknown man.

"Hello Delaney." Cyborg responded with an ice-cold voice. "I realize I'm late, can you open the gate now?"

"Why are you late, Vic?" Delaney asked in his oily voice. The sunglasses masked his eyes, but Raven knew they were focused right past Cyborg and on her. She shuddered, feeling his glare and disliking it enormously.

"I ran into an old friend and we went out for coffee." Cyborg growled, becoming annoyed easily. "Look Delaney, open the freaking gate."

"Now, now," Delaney replied, waving his hands in front of him. "Remember; I'm Chief of Security for Mr. Logan, nobody gets into his property without my say-so."

"And I've been Gar's best friend since he was fourteen." Cyborg snapped back. "And we both know if I called him up, he'd let me in."

"Vicky baby, nobody doubts _your_ right to be here." Delaney said with a matter-of-factly tone. "But I can't have you bringing strange chicks onto the property."

"I'm a friend of Garfield's." Raven said before Cyborg or Delaney could get a word out. "And if you ever call me a 'chick' again, you'll be sorry." She added in a cold tone. It was no longer a matter of disliking this man; she flat out could not stand him.

"Excuse me; I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Chuck Delaney, Chief of Security for Mr. Logan and his house. And you are?" Delaney said, his oily voice dripping.

"My name is Raven," Raven replied coldly. "Now open the gate."

"Listen here, little lady, I'm Chief of Security." Delaney stated proudly. "No one gets on this property unless I clear them first, got it?"

Raven narrowed her eyes. "Why don't you call Garfield and ask him what he thinks?"

"Because I don't _need_ too, it matters what I think; I'm Chief of Security." Delaney rebutted rather rudely. Raven was becoming fed up with all of this and she turned her gaze to Cyborg.

"Can we go now?" She asked annoyance evident in her voice.

"That's not up to Vicky, that's up to me." Delaney cut off Cyborg before he could even speak. "So why don't you direct the conversation my way, little chicky."

That did it. Raven's day, so far, had consisted of a very long airplane ride, a very long line at a sci-fi convention, and a very long car ride with Cyborg while he recalled a very sad story about the Titan's breakup. She was on her last nerve and her annoyance level had become dangerously high. Raven narrowed her eyes; which were now red and glowing and she spoke in a deep, dangerous voice.

"Listen to me very carefully grease-ball." Raven snapped. "I stole from a innocent waitress and spent the entire day surrounded by the world's nerd population at a sci-fi convention so I could see Garfield; now open the gate."

Chuck Delaney, however, did not budge. He stood and refused to open the gate.

"Don't worry Rae, I'll call BB and –"

"Azarath, Metreon, Zinthos." Raven muttered, waving one of her hands. The lock on the end of the gate turned black and clicked open, and a second later, the large iron bars that separated Beast Boy's estate from the rest of Hollywood swung open. Chuck Delaney's eyes widened and the four men with him all sweatdropped and did double takes.

"What the hell was that?" Delaney demanded, reaching a hand inside his jacket. Cyborg quickly intervened.

"Chuck, don't mess with her. She's a former superhero and could whip your ass. Trust me. Just get out the way, and stop being such a prick." Cyborg advised him. Delaney glared at the half-man, but apparently, he was too freaked out by Raven's display of powers to say or do anything further. He turned around went back up the gravel path that led towards the actual mansion, muttering to the other four men the entire way.

"Well, he was a bright little ray of sunshine." Raven's sarcasm flowed like wine. Cyborg laughed.

"No kidding. Chuck's a jerk. BB hired him a couple years ago after one of his fans went nut-so on him."

"Define 'nut-so'?" A curious Raven asked.

"Eh, she came here and declared that BB was the greatest actor alive, and that he was a genius writer too, then she asked if he wouldn't mind posing for a picture with her. Well, you know BB. You take a pretty woman; add a massive amount of compliments and he's putty in a person's hands. Well, long story short, she kidnapped him using chloroform, drove him down to Mexico and tried to force some Spanish priest to marry them. BB woke up, did the changeling thing, and high-tailed it back here. Ever since then, he's had bodyguards."

Raven shook her head, trying to imagine what kind of psychopath would kidnap Beast Boy and try to marry him illegally in Mexico. Either 'Space Trek' was a bigger hit than she realized, or Beast Boy finally had become irresistible to women, like he always claimed he was back in the days at the tower. She had a feeling it was the first choice.

"Well, c'mon Rae, let's go up and see him." Cyborg said. He closed the doors of the T-Car, made sure his baby was locked tightly, and then started up the hill that led towards the mansion in the distance. Raven could see it. A huge, two-story house was painted red and white, with actual gold rims on the building. She could see a swimming pool off to their right. It was shaped strangely.

"What's up with his pool?" Raven asked as they walked past.

"If you see it from above it looks just like BB's head." Cyborg explained.

"I'd say that money and fame changed him, but I think he probably had _that_ idea in his head when he was poor." Raven remarked in her usual sarcastic fashion.

"Naw, don't worry about BB being changed." Cyborg said as they continued up the path towards the large white door of the mansion. "He's still the same guy he always was. He spends all day eating tofu, playing Mega Monkeys 12, and working on his Sci-Fi show."

Raven felt a smile twitch at the corner of her mouth, but she forced it away. "Great. So fame didn't go to his head at all?"

"Oh it went to his head, alright." Cyborg laughed. "He's convinced that he's the greatest thing since sparkplugs; but _he_ hasn't really changed. His head's the size of the moon, but just as empty as it was ten years ago."

Both of the former titans shared a quick laugh at this, and Raven allowed the smile to break free this time. She had not laughed like that in a long, long time. In truth, she had been worried about coming up here to see Beast Boy, but now all worry had vanished from her mind. Somehow, this just felt right. Her restless mind was finally at peace here. All the fears, doubts and worries that had been plaguing her since she had woken up were lessened and diminished to an extent that she felt like her old self again.

Raven stopped. Here they were, standing at the front door. She could feel those unfamiliar feelings of worry and doubt welling up inside her stomach. She couldn't understand why she was so nervous to see him after all of these years. Well, yes she could. She was nervous because it had been ten years, and the grass stain who had once just been an annoying friend was now rich, powerful, arrogant and still, according to his book, in love with her. This would be an interesting reunion without a doubt.

Cyborg opened the door and let himself in, Raven followed behind him quietly without saying a word. She cast her eyes around Beast Boy's living room as they walked inside. The walls were filled with bookshelves full of video tapes and DVDs. There were Space Trek posters on the wall, and each of them featured Gar's big green face smiling down on her. She had to admit, she was amused with the fact that he'd decorated his house with posters of himself. It was cute, in a big-headed sort of way.

As they made their way through the hallways, Raven began to wonder just how big this house was. The carpets were nice, and the walls clean. She saw several portraits on the walls as they walked. Some of them were pictures of Beast Boy, some others were pictures of his late parents, Mr. & Mrs. Logan, and some were pictures of the Space Trek cast. She noticed there were no pictures of the Titans hanging up.

"I sort of expected some more glamour shots of the old team." Raven noted.

"Not out here. BB has an old picture of the team in his room." Cyborg informed her, then he grinned obnoxiously. "And guess whose picture he has right next to his bed?"

Raven just groaned in response. Cyborg laughed his head off. They turned down a hallway, and suddenly Raven was struck by a powerful smell. She recognized it in a heartbeat, although she hadn't had that scent on her nose in ten years.

"Grilled-Tofu-and-cheese-sandwiches." Raven said, a smile crossing her mind at the memories that brought back.

"BB's favorite." Cyborg replied. "You know, he makes his own cheese for those things. Makes his own milk, too."

"Beast Boy has a cow?" Raven asked.

"No." Cyborg replied, and when Raven realized what he meant she groaned once again. Cyborg laughed amused and Raven knew it had only been a joke, but she was still compelled to let out an annoyed sigh.

They reached a white door and Cyborg opened it. On the other side was a kitchen. It was a fabulous kitchen, too. The floors were white tile, there was a large silver refrigerator on the wall, and cabinets full of dishes, cooking utensils and spices. Cabinets filled the walls on both sides, and in the middle of the room was a long table with an oven, stovetop grill, and sink all built in, as well as a counter space for preparing food.

She saw him then. Short, skinny and green; there was Beast Boy. Garfield was standing in the middle of one of the aisles between the cabinets and the sink/stove/oven counter. He was just loading a sandwich with tofu and covering it in melted cheese when he heard the door open and turned around. Raven took a tentative step back behind Cyborg's bulky body so that he could see no more of her than her arm.

"Dude, howdy Cy." Beast Boy greeted his best friend in the same way he had for years. Apparently, he had not noticed Raven.

Cyborg grinned cheekily. "Hey BB. You left early, what's the deal?"

Beast Boy shrugged. "Eh, one of the fans asked me how I was going to end this season." Beast Boy went back to working on his sandwich and while his head was turned away Raven risked a peak from behind Cyborg's steely frame. She felt her throat close up on her and her mouth become very dry, and she could not figure out why. Why was seeing him affecting her this way? She hadn't been like this around Cyborg.

_Yeah, well Cyborg hasn't been harboring a crush on you for ten years either._ Raven pointed out to herself mentally. _What am I doing? Who cares if he has a crush on me?_

_It's more than a crush if its lasted for ten years._ A little voice inside her head said.

_It doesn't matter. Even if it is. It's not like I . . ._ Raven trailed off. She was losing the argument with her emotions.

It's not like you what? Not like, you have feelings for him. My, how quickly we forget Raven. Ten years is a long time, but I seem to recall --

_Enough!_ Raven was not going to debate her emotions today. She had enough on her plate as it was.

"Sounds fascinating BB." Cyborg said in a voice that clearly showed his last statement was untrue. Raven snapped back into reality and away from her emotions. She realized that Beast Boy had been going on about Space Trek this entire time. "Listen, BB, I got a surprise for you dude."

Beast Boy blinked and looked up from his sandwich. "Oh yeah? What is it?"

"This." Before she could stop him, Cyborg took a huge step to the left and unblocked Beast Boy's view of Raven. "Have fun kids." With that, Cyborg turned around and quickly ran out of the room with a devious grin on his face. He shut the door behind him and left Raven standing there facing Beast Boy. She rubbed her right arm with her left one and bit her lip, looking down at her shoes.

". . . So who are you?" Beast Boy asked, finally breaking the silence. Raven felt a little hurt by this statement, but she quickly realized that she was ten years older than she had been when he last saw her, her face was down so he couldn't see it, and she was wearing tight jeans and a T-shirt; a clothing combination Raven wouldn't normally be caught dead in.

Instead of answering his question, Raven lifted her face so he could see it. Beast Boy's eyes widened as soon as she did. He saw her pale skin tones, the dark eyes that had invaded his dreams since he was just a teenager, and that red stone on her forehead that he'd always found strangely foreign and erotic. Beast Boy's jaw dropped.

"R-R-Ra-Ra-Ra-eeee?" He choked out at last.

**

* * *

**

_**An Old Cavern Beneath Wayne Manor, Gotham City**_

Deep beneath the earth, in an underground cavern, Dick Grayson sat alone in the dark. His only company down here was the occasional rat, spider or bat. High-tech computer systems and glass cases full of advanced weaponry aligned the walls around the room. The lair he sat in was infamous, perhaps one of the world's foremost crime fighting bases. Dick had grown up over the years. His hair was long and fell over his shoulders, and his eyes were dark beneath the thin mask he wore over his face.

"I don't get it." He whispered. His eyes were focused on the computer monitor in front of him, reading an online article.

"Don't get what, Master Dick?"

Nightwing, as he was now known, sweatdropped and quickly hit a button on the computer keyboard that wiped the screen blank of the article he had been reading. He swiveled his chair around to find an aged man with a thin mustache standing behind him. The man wore an expensive suit and was carrying a small trey that contained a sandwich and some tear.

"Oh, it's nothing Alfred." Nightwing hastily replied.

"Are you certain?" Alfred asked as he walked beside the computer and set the trey of sandwiches and tea down on the table next to Nightwing. "I could have sworn you were reading an article about Miss. Anders."

Nightwing's eyes darkened, but his cheeks reddened a bit. "I was just going over some of Bruce's old crime reports, that's all."

"Hmm." A not-convinced butler mumbled to himself. "Very well, I'll leave you to work Master Dick."

Alfred turned and went back up the steps that led to Wayne Manor. The superhero formerly known as Robin sighed and turned the computer screen back on. The screen contained an online article that was, as Alfred had suspected, about a fashion model named Kori Anders. Nightwing didn't know why he even bothered reading about her, it had been years since they had last spoken, and the last time they had talked it had been an argument. Still, he couldn't help himself. When he'd stumbled across the article online he'd been compelled to read it. It reminded him of Jump City, and of the happiest days of his life.

He did not want to remember Starfire. He tried to block her – and all the other Titans – from his mind. He tried to forget about those days, and forget what a huge mistake he had made ten years ago. He tried to wish away his depression and heartache.

It never worked.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

A red light was flashing through the Batcave, and an alarm was blazing. He quickly tapped a few keys on the keyboard and the article about Kori Anders was replaced with live video feed from the First National Bank of Gotham, where a robbery was in progress. Apparently two suspects had entered and began tearing up the place, and police were helpless to stop them.

Nightwing bolted from his chair and hurried towards his motorcycle. Bruce Wayne and Tim Drake, who normally took care of Gotham's crime problems, were on assignment for the Justice League. Nightwing had been happy to fill in during their absence. His sleek blue motorcycle fired the impressive jet engines and soared down the street towards Gotham as it exploded out of the end of the Batcave's hidden entrance.

He made quick timing on reaching the city. He was pulling up just outside the bank, which was already surrounded by police cars. Nightwing jumped off of his bike and approached the barricade that had been set up in front of the bank. Several officers were behind the wooden barricade with their guns drawn, but none of them were going inside.

"What's the hold-up?" Nightwing asked one of the officers nearest the large glass doors of the bank.

"We've been waiting on you, actually." The cop replied. "Those creeps inside are more your territory. Apparently they're both supervillians."

Nightwing looked towards the glass doors. Someone had pulled the curtains down to block the view of the inside of the bank, so he could not see the suspects. Nightwing continued his questioning. "Are there any hostages?"

"Yeah." The cop said grimly. "Three bank tellers, a security guard and two customers who were inside. Last we heard the robbers had stuffed them all inside the vault."

Nightwing nodded. "Alright, I'm going in." With that Nightwing withdrew a rappelling hook gun out of his belt and fired the sturdy wire. It connected with the roof and he used it to pull himself up to the roof of the bank. The police watched with baited breath as the superhero climbed his way across the roof until he reached the large glass skylight on top. He looked down and could see the main room of the bank. The vault door was open, and inside he could see several hostages. There were also two people standing in the middle of the room; they appeared to be waiting on something.

Nightwing carefully removed a glass-cutting utensil from his utility belt and cut a small circle in the glass skylight. He was careful not to let it fall after he cut it. He set the removed circle on the roof, and then reached a gloved hand inside and unlocked the skylight. Nightwing then opened the skylight and prepared to get the drop on the robbers. That's when he was able to get a batter look at the pair; and he gasped.

The first was a man. He was short and completely bald, except for an overgrown brown mustache. He wore goggles over his eyes and on his back he had a steel backpack. His clothes were entirely black, and Nightwing was amazed that his wardrobe was pretty much the same after all these years. The second was a taller woman with pale skin and long purple hair down her back. She wore too much eyeliner and too much blush in her cheeks, and wore a black dress. There was no mistaking either one of them, even after ten years.

"I see you finally grew some hair, Gizmo. Too bad it wasn't on your head." Nightwing laughed as he jumped down from the roof and landed behind the pair. The short man – Gizmo – squeaked and jumped back, while the woman – Jinx – sidestepped away from Nightwing and smiled at him.

"I wondered when someone would show up." Jinx smirked, then she waved her arms and purple waves of energy shot across the room. Nightwing did a back flip to avoid them – however the waves crashed against the counter behind him and caused it to break in half.

"And what brings a couple of washed-up wannabe crooks like you two all the way out here?" Nightwing asked as he flipped a bird-a-rang off his belt and tossed it at Jinx. She used her natural acrobatic skills to dodge the bird-a-rang with a fancy cartwheel.

"Wouldn't YOU like to know!" Gizmo taunted childishly. He pressed a button on his belt and his steel backpack opened. Two large silver wings shot from the side and a engine appeared on the bottom. It had become a jet pack. Gizmo lifted off into the air and then pressed another button. Two small revolver-like machineguns lifted out of the top of the backpack and landed on Gizmo's shoulders. The mounted gauss guns opened fire at Nightwing, who jumped behind the counter to avoid the bullets. Jinx wasted no time; she fired her spells at the roof and several pieces fell off towards the other side of the counter.

Nightwing, however, was too good to fall for that. He jumped up off the ground and did a back flip in mid-air. His feet collided in mid-air with one of the chunks of roof and kicked it towards Gizmo. It smashed into the short man's face and sent him spiraling out of control. Gizmo slammed into a wall and sunk down to the ground. Jinx gasped, then turned towards Nightwing for an attack but the former boy wonder was too quick. He delivered a kick to Jinx's jawbone before she could wave her hands and she was sent flying into the marble floor.

Nightwing quickly turned around, but he was not fast enough. Gizmo was back up and had already activated another gadget on his steel backpack. The wings and jet engine were gone; instead, his classic spider-legs had shot out and lifted him up into the air. A pair of rocket launchers on either side of the steel pack had emerged and had been aimed at Nightwing.

"Adios snot-bucket!" Gizmo yelled. He hit a button on his wristwatch and the missiles fired right towards Nightwing. Nightwing did not budge an inch. He whipped a small disc off his belt and threw it. As the disc flew in-between the missiles it exploded and caused them to detonate in mid-air, away from Nightwing.

Nightwing ran forward and grabbed Gizmo by the collar of his shirt. "Now, start talking baldy; what brings you to Gotham?"

"Not telling you a thing." Gizmo replied rudely. Nightwing slammed the smaller man into the wall behind him roughly, banging Gizmo's head against the concrete.

"TALK!" Nightwing demanded.

"It was just a job. Some guy offered Jinx and me big cash if we caused trouble in Gotham." Gizmo admitted, not wanting to be beaten any further.

"Who?"

"I don't know, we never met in person." Gizmo claimed. Nightwing growled and pushed Gizmo against the wall again. Gizmo cried out in pain and then began to sputter, "It's the truth!" repeatedly. Nightwing finally sighed and dropped the short crook. He removed the man's backpack and tossed it aside. Gizmo looked like he was going to try to run and reach it again, but Nightwing tossed a small detonator from his belt at the backpack and it blew up. The explosion caused the backpack to detonate and the resulting blast turned out to be bigger than Nightwing had expected.

Jinx used the smoke created by the blast as an opportunity. She waved her arms at the vault and her bad luck spells crashed into the walls. Nightwing heard screaming from inside and realized that the building was collapsing around the hostages.

"Our boss wanted us to pass on a message to you!" Jinx shouted as she ran to Gizmo's side and grabbed her partner by the shirt collar. She took a small disc out of her pocket and threw it onto the ground. Then she and Gizmo ran towards the front door.

"Freeze!" The police yelled in unison. Jinx scoffed and waved her arms; the police cars and the barricade walls toppled over, causing the police to have to run to avoid being crushed. She and Gizmo used this as the opportune time to disappear into the night.

Nightwing grabbed the small disc off the ground and pocketed it, then he ran into the vault to see the walls tumbling down. He quickly threw some explosives at one wall, blowing a hole in it, and then he grabbed the hostages by their ropes and threw them outside. The hostages received some minor cuts and scrapes from being throw out of the building, but their lives had been saved.

Nightwing himself jumped out just as the structure gave way and the vault room collapsed. The longhaired hero panted a bit, then he took the disc out of his belt again and examined it. He wasn't sure what significance it had, if any at all, but he suspected it was the next clue in this puzzle.

Seeing that Jinx and Gizmo were already gone, and the police were tending to the hostages, Nightwing hurried back onto his motorcycle and headed back towards the Batcave without a word to anyone. On the way he popped the small disc into his onboard computer on the bike and watched the small computer monitor between the handle bars.

What he saw shocked him.

"Hello Nightwing . . . Nightwing. Hah. You'll always be little Robin to me." The disc was a recorded message: from Slade. Nightwing didn't even know Slade was still alive after all these years, but there was no mistaking the masked man on the screen in front of him.

"You're probably curious as to why I've chosen to contact you after ten years, and equally curious why I hired those simpletons, Jinx and Gizmo, to deliver this message rather than doing it personally. Well, you'll have your answers Robin, in due time, my boy."

Nightwing could feel a hatred welling up inside him that he hadn't felt in years. Here he was, being taunted by Slade once again as if no time had passed.

"The first thing you should know is that Raven is awake." Slade explained, and the moment he said those words Nightwing gasped and slammed on the breaks of his bike. He was not far from the Batcave entrance now, and outside of the city. His eyes widened and he felt his throat tighten.

"I'll give you a minute to realize what I just said. I'm sure you're having a typical overdramatic reaction." Slade's recording hissed. Nightwing glared. "The second thing you need to know is that soon, very soon, Trigon the Terrible will be coming for her. Yes Robin, you remember him too, don't you?"

Nightwing's throat was increasingly dry.

"I won't bore you with all the details or explanations now, but I will tell you this. The Teen Titans, even if you aren't a team anymore, are still Trigon's target. He hates you all for accepting his daughter. He hates the Titans and will never forgive you for treating her like a human, like a equal – like a friend. When Trigon returns, he will kill all five of you first thing. If you and your friends want to stand even a ghost of a chance against him, then its time for a little reunion. Raven is already Los Angeles, undoubtedly going to find Beast Boy and Cyborg. I suggest you find Starfire and meet them there as soon as possible. I'll be keeping an eye on them for now, but don't expect me to protect them from what happens next. That is something only you can do."

Nightwing hated those words. _What happens next?_ It was a question that would ring in his ears until he had an answer.

"I'm sure you're questioning my motives on all of this. You're wondering if you can believe me, or if this is all a trap; furthermore you realize that even if what I say is true, it is me saying it, and you cannot trust me. Am I right? Of course I am, Robin. So let's cut to the chase – Yes, I have my own motivations for doing what I'm doing. No, you wouldn't like them if you knew what they are. Either way, it doesn't matter. Trigon will come for you one way or the other; I am merely offering a head's up so that you might have a chance to win. I'll be watching . . . Nightwing."

With that the message ended. Nightwing sat in silence on the side of the road. His eyes continued to stare at the screen where Slade's masked face had been only moments ago. Without another word, he turned his bike around and started speeding out of town. He hit a button on the dashboard and the mini-computer monitor he had been the disc on transferred over to a live feed to the Batcave, where Alfred answered.

"Yes, Master Dick?"

"I'm going to New York." Nightwing informed him. "Have to take care of some things. Tell Bruce when he gets back."

"Indeed, sir."

**

* * *

**

_**Garfield Logan's Mansion, Hollywood California**_

"You, but how, you were, and I, and coma, and guy, and dude, and the doctor said, but I told him, but he said –" Beast Boy was rambling now. He was standing in front of Raven with his mouth wide open, his eyes agape, and his mind blown away. Raven shook her head, partially amused.

"Beast Boy. Calm down." She commanded in her usual monotone tone. For the first time since she woke up she really felt normal again. It was just like her telling him to calm down at the Tower, back in the days of normalcy.

"Raven, is it really you?" He asked, choking a bit on the words.

"Yes, it is." She replied. She bit her lip and began to realize how hard this must be on him. He had lived the last ten years in the beliefs, that she would never wake up and that they would never see one another again. She knew that he still cared for her. It was apparent, both from his confession in his book and from the plot of his hit television show. Mostly, though, she knew from the look in his eyes. She had never really notice the way he looked at her ten years ago. There were moments – like after the Malchior incident, or that time he had first become 'The Beast' – when she saw a glimmer in his eyes. During those moments, the two of them connected on a level beyond friendship. She saw that same glimmer in his eyes now. His feelings for her had not changed.

And, when she really thought about it, her feelings for him were the same too. She never would have allowed herself to admit it in those days, but she did care about him. She wouldn't use the word 'love'. It was a strong word, and she doubted that anyone in her life had even earned that word, but she could honestly say it was more than just friendship. Perhaps if she had not been so quiet, and if he had not been quite so obnoxious and annoying, something could have happened between them ten years ago.

_. . . What the hell are you thinking? Don't think about this. Not here. Not now._ Raven's emotions were screaming in another argument. Reason wanted her to return her focus on the important issues, but one of her emotions wanted her to focus on Beast Boy and his feelings for her. That emotion was one she rarely ever obeyed, and she wouldn't start now.

"When did you . . ." Beast Boy trailed off.

"Not long ago. I've had one hellova a time too. I'll tell you all about it." Raven promised, then she decided to do something that surprised her even more than it surprised Beast Boy. "Over lunch."

Beast Boy blinked at her. "You want some tofu-and-cheese sandwiches?" He offered, his ears perking up like a dog's to show he was excited.

"Why not." Raven replied. She had already had one of the strangest days of her life, she may as well not break the pattern. Besides, while she'd never acknowledge it, seeing Beast Boy again had put her in a good enough mood that she'd eat a tofu-and-cheese-sandwich with him.

Beast Boy smiled at her, and then he ran forward and threw his arms around her in a tight hug. Raven was a little annoyed, but decided to keep it to herself. When Beast Boy broke away, however, he caused Raven to drop what she'd been holding. She had been holding his book. It fell to the kitchen floor with a clang, and when Beast Boy saw it his eyes widened in silent horror.

"You . . . read my book?" Beast Boy asked, looking away from Raven and his face filling up with blood.

"Yeah." Raven replied quietly.

It was one of those awkward moments that can feel like hell.

Unfortunately for both of them, something was soon going to happen that would feel even more hellish. . .

**

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**

**A/N**: There you have it. Chapter five is complete mi amigos. I hope you all liked it, and I hope you'll all come back for chapter six. Don't forget to review now, reviews make my ego inflate . . . err . . . I mean they keep the story alive. XD Bad joke, I know.


	6. Awkward Moments and Angry Monsters

**Ten Years Later**

**By**

**Brandon "GoldenSama" Rice**

**Chapter Six **

"Awkward Moments and Angry Monsters"

**A/N**: - Big Happy Brandon Schmile.

Thank you all for reading and reviewing this story. Because of my overwhelming happiness, I worked extra hard on this chapter. It is dedicated to **fernnu**, in honor of the 200th review. It's also dedicated to **Kazzy103**. A King Kong sized thank you to everybody who has read/reviewed s'far. Here's chapter six, please enjoy.  
Also, I apologize for the delay. Been busy lately.

Also, on a quick note unrelated to my story: There's a hot new message board online in need of some members, and I'd really appreciate it if some of y'all would go register there. It's a Sonic-themed message board, plus there's chat about all kinds of video games, cartoons and anime and the like as well. Plus there's a killer RP section; with two RPs hosted by yours truly. So what have you got to lose by coming down and joining? Hmm? That's what I thought.

http/ s12.invisionfree. com /sonicthehedgehog /index. php?actidx

(remove the spaces)

GO! Register an account! **BE ACTIVE AND POST**! And don't forget to tell 'em GS sent ya! Now on with your regularly scheduled fanfiction.

**

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**

_**The Apartment of Kori Anders, New York City, New York**_

Kori Anders, one of the top-rated fashion models in the world, lives in a lavish apartment in Manhattan. After leaving the Teen Titans, and the name "Starfire" behind, she wound up getting caught in the fashion business. At first, her naive nature and trusting personality, combined with her immense beauty made her an easy target for an agent. She quickly became one of the most desirable models in the business. Since, in those days, she'd still been heartbroken over what happened to the Titans, she hadn't even given a thought to the business side of her business. The money, the fame – she never wanted those things.

Then Starfire – or Kori as she calls herself now – had a life altering experience. She was approached by a charity for children with disabilities who wanted her to donate some money to their cause. Kori was all too happy to help. Then her agent went ballistic on her because Kori had given away so much money without checking with him. That had been Kori's harsh introduction to the way things worked in her new life. Pretty much everyone in the business was only in it for themselves. When she learned of how greedy they all were, Kori fired her agent and began to manage herself.

Luckily, she still had many contacts, and she was still beautiful – which is why she made one hellova model. But now, ten years after Raven's accident and several years after she entered the business, Kori Anders was no longer naive. She was not an outsider from another world, struggling to learn Earth's ways. She no longer had that sunny outlook on life, believing that everything would always work out in the end. She knew that wasn't true.

The cold, harsh reality was this: her friends were gone, and her life was depressing. Sure, she was rich and beautiful and famous; and she devoted most of her time and money to helping others, but it didn't change the past. It didn't change the fact that Raven was, to Kori's knowledge, never going to wake up again. It did not alter reality and heal her stained relationship with Beast Boy or Cyborg, though she still spoke to them on occasion. Nor did it help her get over Robin.

Robin was someone she tried to forget, and for the most part she did a good job of it. Nearly ninety-nine percent of the time, she could block out his memory. She could forget his face, his voice, his touch – she simply pretended that he had never been. However, when she was alone in her apartment, late at night, and it was raining – she'd always let her mind drift back to him. The first night she'd gotten to New York, it had been dark and raining and she'd been sleeping on the street beneath a street light, whimpering and shivering from the cold, with nothing but memories of the good times she'd lost to keep her warm.

Still, she couldn't forgive him. Not even after ten years. And what was the point? Even if she did forgive him now, it would not change what happened. It would not bring back her friend, or reunite the team. The Teen Titans were gone, and that was something she would one day have to accept. This was her life now; and it was a good life, so she should enjoy it.

Kori was lying on her red couch, watching the television. The redhead was tired, and it was a glum day. Rain was spattering against the windows with a tapping sound that was bringing back memories of her first day in the big city. She ignored those memories as her finger clicked the remote control and the channels flipped by. She had recently gotten back from a photo shoot overseas, and she had a few days off before she'd be off again. This time she was going to Rome, but she didn't really feel the excitement that usually accompanied a trip to the fabulous city. She didn't know what it was, but today she was just depressed.

As she flipped through the channels, she suddenly stopped. It was the Sci-Fi Channel, which she rarely ever watched, but she recognized Garfield's face on the screen and stopped with a small, sad smile. It was an old episode of Space Trek. She watched it for a few minutes, until memories of the old team became too painful, then she switched it to the local news, which was giving a report about unusual lunar activity. She sighed deeply and switched the television off. Then she got up off the couch and walked slowly to her kitchen.

Kori rooted through her drawers for a few minutes until she found some pancake mix. She hadn't been shopping in weeks, since she'd been in London for a fashion show, and this was all she had. Well, pancakes would have to do for dinner tonight. She turned the stove on and went to look for mustard while she let it preheat. Just as she was digging through the refrigerator for the yellow substance, she heard her doorbell ring.

Kori groaned. Whoever it was, she didn't want company tonight. Since she hadn't spoken to any of her friends since she got back from London, and since the studio would have called her, rather than send someone over, she had no clue who it could be at her door. Probably a charity group, or maybe it was the owner of the apartment building. He was supposed to come over and fix the garbage disposal.

The one person Kori would not expect to be at her front door was Nightwing; so naturally, when she opened the door and found him standing there, she was completely shocked.

They stood there for a moment, neither of them speaking. He had a look on his face that was identical to the kind he used to get whenever there was trouble, and she knew that this was no social call. She could not even begin to imagine what had brought him here; what would bring him back to her after all of these years. What she did know was she was glad to see him; although he must never know that.

"What are you doing here?" She asked quietly. She didn't ask it in a harsh way, or a mean way; she merely asked curiously.

"I need your help." He replied, his voice seemed to crack and waver a little. "Starfire—"

"Don't call me that." Kori snapped. She suddenly remembered that she was still mad at him. It was stupid to be upset after all these years, especially when only a few minutes ago she had been thinking about how much she missed him and the others – but being mad was all she had. It was easier to let go of the past if she stayed mad at him. "Listen, I don't know why you came here but—"

"Raven's awake." Nightwing cut her off as she started to dismiss him. That caused Kori to stop speaking instantly. Her large green eyes widened in surprise and she opened her mouth as if to say something, but closed it again.

"She's awake, and she's in danger; and I need your help."

Kori stared at him for a minute, trying to make sense of this. She gave up, deciding that there was no sense to this. However, it did supply her with an excuse to see the others again – the excuse she'd been wishing would come for the last ten years.

Slowly, Kori stepped away from the door making room for him to come in, and even more slowly, he entered her apartment. She walked across the room, then turned to face him with her arms crossed and her eyes filled with painful memories.

"I'm sorry." Nightwing sighed.

"I don't want to hear your apologies." Kori replied. "Just tell me what's going on."

Nightwing was shocked. She'd changed over ten years. She'd changed a lot. No longer was her speech foreign and awkward sounding. She had also become bitter, but he supposed that was his fault. Everything had been his fault ten years ago. Well, now it was time for him to right those wrongs.

"Slade contacted me." Nightwing explained, and the moment he said it he saw Kori utter a small gasp of horror and clutch a hand over her mouth. "He said Raven was awake, and that Trigon was coming for her. I checked it out; Raven did wake up, and the doctor who was caring for her wound up dead."

"What does this mean?" Kori asked him.

"I don't know, yet. But I plan to find out. According to Slade, Raven's going to California."

"Where Beast Boy lives?" Kori inquired.

"Bingo." Nightwing replied. "Listen, I know you don't want anything to do with _me_, but Raven's in danger. I want to protect her, but I can't do that alone."

Kori sighed and looked down at the carpet. After thinking for a moment, she lifted her head back up to face him. "Then I'll help you."

**

* * *

**

If Nightwing thought he had it bad, reuniting with Starfire, he should have seen the scene in Garfield's kitchen.

Beast Boy and Raven were both standing in complete silence. The book was still on the floor, and Garfield was searching the farthest corners of his brain to come up with something to say. The fact was, he had nothing to say. Raven had _read his book_. She had read everything. His crush on her, the basis for Sparrow, all those deep personal details that he'd only revealed in the belief that she would never see them in print. The green boy's skin took on a much redder shade, and he suddenly became very interested in staring at his feet.

It was awkward for Raven too – but she was having a long day, and she didn't need this right now. Standing in silence was nice, but she had been looking forward to a happy reunion. She needed the weirdness to calm down and take a break for a while. She needed the drama to cease. She needed a few minutes that she could just enjoy, rather than worry about this new world she'd suddenly been pushed into; and this was not helping.

"Y-Y-You read m-my bo-o-ok?" Garfield choked out again, he seemed stunned by this development. Raven shook her head in annoyance. This wasn't what she needed right now, so she decided to do this quickly, like taking off a band-aid.

"Yes, I read your book." She was determined to get this over with, but as she said those words she stopped, paused, and fell silent. Her mouth and throat had suddenly become very dry, and she could not speak. Why she was being affected this way, she did not know.

No. That was not true.

She did know, she just didn't want to think about it right now.

"Listen, Rae, when I, I mean, the book, I wrote some things, and you weren't supposed to, and I didn't think—"

"Mr. Logan." Chuck Delaney's voice cut through the air like a knife. Raven closed her eyes as the white-suited man walked into the room behind her. She had already grown to loathe Chuck, and his being here wasn't helping an already awkward moment.

"Dude, not now Chuck. I'm kind-of busy." Garfield replied.

"Yeah, well you have _another_ visitor." Chuck said, and Raven noticed his voice was different this time. There seemed to be a great deal of worry and dread clinging to each word that rolled off his tongue. Raven thought at first it might be because he was talking to his boss; but that was silly. Beast Boy wasn't intimidating, not enough to cause that kind of panic in a man's voice.

"What? Who?" Garfield asked.

"He says he's a friend of Miss Raven's." Chuck explained. Raven found it rather ironic that he'd call her 'Miss' now, since it was obvious she was friends with Chuck's boss. However, she didn't have time to enjoy the delicious irony because she was now curious. A friend of hers? She wasn't sure who that could be, but she didn't like the sound of it.

"Who?" Raven demanded.

"I don't know his name. Wouldn't say. He just said he was a friend of yours, Miss Raven." Chuck informed her. He had a tone in his voice that made it clear he disliked Raven and was only showing her respect because he had too.

"I'll take care of it BB." Raven almost jumped when Cyborg spoke. He had reappeared at the doorway behind Delaney. He grabbed Chuck by the shoulders and steered him out of the room towards the front of the house. Obviously Cyborg was trying to help Raven and Garfield have their reunion in private, but truthfully Raven had been thankful for the interruption. She shook her head and turned back to Beast Boy, who was now eating his tofu-and-cheese sandwich again.

Raven walked over to the counter and sat down next to him. Neither of them spoke for a few moments. Beast Boy chewed in silence, obviously using the time to think about everything. Raven could tell from the strained look on his face that he was deep in thought. She sighed and looked down at her hands.

". . . I shouldn't have come here." Raven announced.

"What?" Beast Boy swallowed the bite in his mouth. "Don't say that."

"It's true." Raven replied. "I thought reuniting with the old team was a good idea, but . . ."

"Rae, don't base this on me." Garfield cut her off. "Dude, you can't make judgments based on _me_. I'm just . . . y'know, a little embarrassed, but I'm still really happy to see you Raven. I don't think you'll ever understand how much I missed you . . ."

Raven didn't reply. She just closed her eyes. Garfield continued speaking.

"You know I even missed it when I'd interrupt your meditation time and you'd throw stuff at me and yell at me. I mean it Rae, seeing you again is wonderful. I'm just . . . not good at sayin' stuff like that."

"You're doing just fine." Raven replied quietly.

". . . So?"

"So what?"

"So, like, you read my book. What did you think?"

"I doubt you'll win a Pulitzer." Raven teased him quietly.

"Dude, that was uncalled for." Beast Boy was grinning. "No, seriously, I mean what did you think about me l-"

"I think I'd rather talk about that later." Raven interrupted him in a stern voice.

"Oh." Beast Boy seemed a bit disappointed. "Yeah, okay."

Raven sighed. She turned to him and started to speak, but at that moment there was a thunderous noise from somewhere else; the front yard from the sound of things. Raven felt the ground shake and she slipped and fell off the stool she had been sitting on. She slammed her head against the floor and cried out in intensive pain. A stabbing, searing white-hot pain was tearing through her forehead. It took her a moment to realize this wasn't from the fall – it was much too painful, and she had banged the back of her head, not the front.

"Raven." Beast Boy whispered. She looked up at him, struggling to keep her eyes open from the pain. She could see his face. He was staring at her with wide eyes full of fear.

"What?" Raven asked, biting her tongue to try to lessen the intensive pain in her forehead.

"You're . . . glowing." Garfield replied. She blinked, and then she looked down at her body. Everywhere that her pale white skin was exposed she could see red marks burning onto her skin. That caused her own eyes to widen and fill with mute horror.

"No . . ."

There was a second explosion-like sound from outside, followed by a loud scream. Beast Boy recognized the screamer as Chuck Delaney. Though neither of them could see Chuck outside, they both knew that scream had been the last thing he'd ever utter.

"I don't know what's going on, but we should go." Beast Boy decided.

"Yeah . . ." Raven tried to stand up by putting a hand on the counter and pulling herself up, but as she did she felt another explosion of pain in her forehead and she wound up falling flat on her face. Tears leaked down from her eyes from the pain, which was becoming worse by the second.

A moment later, she felt strong, furry hands wrapping around her body. She opened her eyes to see a green gorilla picking her up and running down the hallway. Beast Boy had her slung over one of his shoulders, and she allowed him to carry her towards the front door. A moment later she was splashed with sunshine as they bounded out into Beast Boy's front yard and towards the driveway where the T-Car was parked. Suddenly she felt Beast Boy come to a stop, and she could feel him shaking. She was facing the opposite direction, so she could not see what was in front of them that had stopped them.

Then a voice spoke, and Raven realized what it was.

"Ah, there's my girl." Someone's voice reached Raven's ears and she felt herself freeze in fright. This wasn't happening. She had wanted, ever since she woke up, to go back to the old days in Jump. This hadn't been what she meant.

"You remember that friend of Rae's Chuck was talkin' about?" She heard Cyborg's voice now.

Raven sat up and turned around in Beast Boy's arm so she could see the scene; but as soon as she saw it she closed her eyes again. Chuck and several of the other bodyguards were lying sprawled out across the driveway, dead. Several limbs had been severed from their bodies, and Chuck had lost his head; there were also scorch marks on the ground and on the corpses. Raven realized why a moment later. Standing next to Chuck's headless corpse was a mountain of a man. He must have been over six feet tall, probably over a good three hundred pounds of pure muscle. He wore a black tattered shirt and matching pants, and there were broken shackles on his wrists and around his ankles, as if he'd broken free of some dungeon. He had long red hair that went down to the middle of his back, and it was dirty and matted as if it hadn't been washed in a very long time. He had a matching beard and mustache that went halfway down his chest. In his right hand, he clutched a gigantic scythe; the blade appeared to be made of fire.

"Raven." The red-haired man hissed in a cold voice. "I come with a message from your father."

Raven felt her heart skip a beat. It felt like someone had just dropped her naked into a bucket of ice-cold water. She could feel a chill wash over her body and ripple up and down her spine. She remembered all too well, what had happened ten years ago with Savaro to cause her coma. She had known then, and she knew now, that Trigon was behind it. She had hoped that Trigon would have given up on her . . . but she knew better.

Raven felt the pain in her body subsiding. She crawled off Beast Boy's shoulders and floated above the ground. She did not trust her feet to support her shaky form, so she used her powers to levitate.

"Raven, just stay back!" Cyborg shouted. He stood in front of the girl and aimed his cannon-arm at the red-haired man. Raven, however, knew it was pointless. They could not protect her from this. She knew she'd have to face this, she had just hoped she'd have some time to reunite with her friends first.

The green gorilla also stepped forward so that he was beside Cyborg, and the two of them shielded her from the red-haired man with the flaming scythe. Raven did not know what to do. It had been over ten years since she'd fought a real supervillian; much less a servant of her father, but at the same time she did not feel like playing the role of the helpless damsel in distress.

"Raven darlin'." The red-haired man called in a singsong voice. "You want your buddies here cut up? Why don't you just come with me and we'll avoid anyone else losin' their lives over you."

Cyborg fired his arm-cannon while the fiend was talking, hoping to catch him off guard. The red-haired man was not so easily tricked, however; he swung his scythe through the air and a curved ripple of flames shot out from the half-moon shaped blade and caught the blast in mid-air. The flames cut through the middle of the sonic blast, diverting the energy away from him. Additionally, the flames continued on and hit Cyborg in the chest, knocking him backwards. The half-man hit the ground and screamed out in pain. Instantly Garfield the green gorilla ran forward; before Raven could stop him.

The Gorilla was inches from the red-haired man when it happened. Garfield attempted to grab the man with his massive hands, but the man ducked down and kicked Garfield in his right kneecap. Then he jumped up onto Gar's back and kicked him again, this time in the back of the head. Garfield fell forward and hit the ground, and the red-haired man landed on his back and pressed the blade of his scythe against Gar's neck.

"Stop!" Raven shouted. The red-haired man smirked.

"Why don't you come along with me dear? If you do, I won't have any need to kill him." The red-haired man pushed the scythe against Garfield's neck. "If you don't . . ."

Garfield turned back into his normal self. "Rae, don't listen to this fool!"

Raven bit her lip. She had no choice. On the one hand, she knew it was the worst thing she could do if she went along with this red-haired messenger of her father. She knew that could spell disaster for the entire world; but she could not sacrifice the life of a friend.

"Let him go first." Raven commanded.

The red-haired man pushed the scythe deeper against Beast Boy's neck, causing a trickle of blood to come out as it broke the skin. "I'm calling the shots here, Raven."

"Stop hurting him!" Raven demanded. "I'll come with you only if you release him!" Her hands were glowing with black light and her eyes were narrowed in fury. The red demonic runes still twinkled over her pale skin.

"Like I said—" The red-haired man's words were cut short when a gunshot rang out. Raven watched as a bullet came tearing through his wrist, causing him to scream and drop his scythe. He stumbled backwards, clutching his wrist, which was now gushing blood. Garfield used this opportunity to transform into a rat and run over to Raven's side. He turned back into himself and stood beside the goth girl, watching the scene unfold.

A second man had appeared. This one had short white hair and a matching beard and mustache; he also had an eye-patch on over his left eye. Slade ran forward and kicked the red-haired man in the stomach, causing him to fall onto the driveway. Then Slade aimed his handgun and fired a bullet into each of Trigon's messenger's knees. The red-haired man screamed in pain.

"When you get back to hell, give Trigon a message for me." Slade hissed as he returned the gun to the trenchcoat he wore and walked over to where the man's scythe had fallen. Slade kicked the end of the scythe, knocking it up into the air and then he caught it by the handle. "Tell him Slade says it won't be that easy."

Slade then plunged the scythe into the man's chest. The man screamed, then his body burst into flames and burnt into ashes instantly. The scythe remained impaled in the ground, and Slade left it there as he turned around to Raven, Garfield and Cyborg.

"Well." He said with an amused tone in his voice. "I've certainly missed all of you."

**

* * *

**

In his dimension, Trigon sat on his dark throne. The evil king stared out of a pair of twin portals. One of them showed Nightwing and Kori Anders on their way to Hollywood. The other showed the reunion between Slade and the three titans at Garfield's mansion. Trigon growled in anger and pounded a massive fist against the seat of his throne.

Slade was becoming a nuisance. Trigon had hoped to use the human in his plans, but it looked like now he had become too much of a liability. Something bothered Trigon, though. How had Slade known of his plans? How had Slade gotten there so quickly? He must have help from someone – but whom?

Trigon decided it was time he stopped messing around. He could not go to Earth himself, but he could send his minions. No more flimsy human-like henchmen, though. It was time he enlisted the services of his most trusted lieutenant.

"Awaken." Trigon called. There was a flash of flames, and then a creature stepped out of the darkness.

"What is thy bidding, my master?" The hideous creature asked.

"Find my daughter. Kill those who would protect her." Trigon commanded.

"As you wish."

There was another puff of smoke and fire, and the creature was gone; on its way to earth to find Raven and kill the Titans.

**

* * *

**


	7. The Titans Reunited

**Ten Years Later**

**By**

**Brandon "GoldenSama" Rice**

**Chapter Seven **

"The Titans Reunited"

**A/N: **This chapter is shorter than I would have liked it to be; but I haven't updated in weeks and I know a lot of you have been looking forward to an update, so I tried to get it done before I lost my computer for the weekend. I do apologize for the shortness, and the delay, and I promise the next chapter will be out MUCH sooner.  
This chapter dedicated to **Ransomed Heart**

**

* * *

**

As the bodies of Chuck Delaney and the other bodyguards still smoldered, and the red-haired man's ashes were scattered to the winds, the three former Titans looked to the eye-patch wearing man who stood in front of them, still holding the flaming scythe in one hand. None of them recognized him by sight, for none of them had ever seen him unmasked before. However, he had told the red-haired man who he was before killing him, and now each of the Titans stood transfixed in horror looking at the gray-haired visage of their archenemy.

"What's wrong? You don't look happy to see me." Slade's sarcasm was quick to show.

"Slade? That's impossible. You're dead." Garfield choked out, staring at the fiend with his eyes filled with horror.

"Obviously I am not." Slade replied in the same sarcastic tone he'd used before. "We can't stay here. Trigon will send others – and they will be much more dangerous than he was. Come quickly, we'll go—"

"We're not going anywhere with you." Cyborg cut him off, aiming one of his arm cannons at Slade.

"Then don't. The only one I need to come with me is Raven; frankly I don't give a damn what happens to the rest of you." Slade was being honest, at least. "In fact, I'd prefer it if you and the green one stayed and were slaughtered by Trigon. I never did like either of you."

"You must be out of your mind if you think I'd go anywhere with you." Raven hissed. She took a step back so that she was standing in-between Beast Boy and Cyborg. Slade smiled.

"Raven, you've got a choice: me or daddy." Slade replied, and his face showed exactly how much he was enjoying the way she squirmed at the possibility. Garfield stepped forward this time with his face full of anger.

"No, she's staying with us, and you're getting lost!" Beast Boy boldly stated.

"I grow tired of this." Slade replied. He lifted the flaming scythe and held it in a battle stance. "If you won't come by choice –"

"Slade." A female voice suddenly spoke. It seemed to be coming from a band on Slade's wrist. Raven's eyes widened at the sound of the voice and she almost fainted. It had been a long time since she last heard that voice, but it was tattooed into her memory. It was the voice of Arella, her mother.

"You are not to harm them; any of them. Is that understood?"

Slade paused for a moment and his face fell, as if he had a bad taste in his mouth and an equally bad odor in his nose. A moment later, her dropped the scythe on the ground and closed his eye in distaste. As confused as Raven had been before, it was nothing compared to now. What was Slade doing in contact with her mother? What was her mother doing in contact with someone as foul and evil as Slade Wilson?

". . . as you wish." Slade replied bitterly, lowering the scythe once again. He hated taking orders from her, but right now, he did not have a choice. "Come, we must make haste." Slade said to the titans.

"What are you doing in contact with my mother?" Raven demanded at once.

"I will explain when we get there." Slade replied. "Now come!"

"Dude, we're not going anywhere with you." Garfield once again stated.

"Not in a million years." Cyborg added, just to further their point.

"Where do you want us to go?" Raven asked in a much less hostile tone. Garfield and Cyborg both went wide eyed and turned to her in shock; they couldn't believe she was actually considering going anywhere with the demented Slade, but Slade smiled at the look on her face.

"Someplace safe, it is a sanctuary that was built for this occasion." Slade explained, and he reached into his pocket and withdrew an old piece of parchment. On the front was a picture of an old building; it was built much like an arcane church, like the kind found in England's countryside. Raven had never seen the place before, but somehow it felt familiar to her.

"Whoa, hang on, Rae, you're not thinking about going with him, are you?" Garfield asked in a worried tone.

Slade chuckled. "You don't get it, do you?" Slade shook his head and there was something devious sparkling in his eye. The assassin reached down into his belt and removed an old scrap of paper. He held it up and began to read something in a language that no one, save Raven, had ever heard before. Raven's eyes remained narrowed and suspicious as Slade read the arcane rhetoric, while Beast Boy and Cyborg looked confused.

Then, suddenly, a puff of black smoke shot up from the parchment in Slade's hand. It swirled around in the air and opened to reveal a window, floating in mid-air. It looked like the porthole on a ship, just floating in the middle of the cloud of smoke.

"Look into tomorrow." Slade ordered, pointing his finger at the porthole. Raven slowly approached it and pressed her face against the window.

What she saw made him scream.

She saw the world as it was now; and as it would be in the future. She saw the skies burning red, and the clouds tainted black. She saw all the oceans, rivers, and lakes of the world running red with blood, and he saw the grass and trees turn brown, wither and die. She could see mountains crumble and cities fall. He saw the jungles burn and the forests disintegrate. Finally, all that was left was one giant gray desert, covered in ash and soot. Skeletons of men, women, children and animals covered the ground; and horrible demons ravaged and desecrated the bones. Then she saw Trigon standing above it all, laughing.

Then she saw Trigon look straight at her. Raven screamed, and blacked out.

**

* * *

**

The Titans had arrived at the Sanctuary Slade had been leading them too.

When Raven had looked into the porthole, screamed, and passed out it caused quite the stir. Garfield had instantly attacked Slade, and Slade had handed him his ass on a platter, as Cyborg so eloquently put it. Slade then informed them that the porthole was merely meant to show her the world Trigon wanted to make – but Trigon must have taken her spirit to his hellish prison to talk to her. He then told them that as long as they protected her body, Raven would be safe . . . more or less. They had decided to take her to the old church, and so they did.

The trip had not lasted long. The church was in San Francisco, near the bridge. It blended into the street like a normal place of worship, but in reality, it had been built as a place for Raven to hide in. Cyborg carried Raven in his arms, and Garfield spent the entire trip nursing his injuries from when Slade beat him, and shooting worried glances at the purple-haired young woman who seemed to moan and groan in her sleep every now and then.

Then they had arrived at the church and Slade closed the door behind them. Then he walked over and sat down on one of the benches. Cyborg cautiously set the unconscious Raven down on a bench in the front, and Garfield bent down next to her and ran a hand through her hair lovingly. Cyborg turned to stare at Slade, but their old foe did not dare try to move. Instead he sat quietly.

"Well; Now what?" Cyborg asked.

"Now we wait for the others." Slade replied.

"What others? Don't tell me you have friends coming!" Garfield growled.

"No, but you do." Slade grinned. Then he stood up and walked towards a back room. He paused in the doorway and turned to look at the Titans. "Let them in when they arrive, I have business to attend to with Arella." Slade walked through the door and shut it, leaving Cyborg and Garfield alone with the sleeping Raven.

**

* * *

**

Raven opened her eyes. She was lying on what looked like a gigantic black diamond. It floated in mid-air above a pool of boiling magma that swirled around like a whirlpool. She could see jagged black diamond rocks floating in the air all around, with small imp-like demons standing on them looking at her. Their skin was like faded gray leather and their small teeth were pointed and curved. Raven was lying on her side, she pulled the cape tight around her.

"Welcome home." A cold, low voice growled.

Raven turned her head to see a pair of gigantic red-skinned feet. Her eyes followed the legs up to the massive body of her father, Trigon the Terrible, who sat on a throne made of flaming rocks. Trigon's mouth twisted into a sick smile at the fear he saw in his daughter's eyes.

"You." Raven drew in a breath.

"'You'? That is no way to speak to your father, young lady. I'll have to teach you some manners, won't I?" Trigon smiled once again and she could see all of his jagged yellow teeth. Just the sight of her father made her sick to her stomach.

"Go to hell." Raven spat at him.

"Hahahahah, look around you my dear, **this is hell**." Trigon pointed out, proving that sarcasm ran in the family. Raven stood up, still keeping the cape clutched tight around her.

"You were supposed to be my portal upon your eighteenth birthday." Trigon informed her. "But that plan was derailed, unfortunately. No matter; the time has come now. You will open the gateway between the worlds and allow my wrath to spill out onto your human world!"

"No, I won't." Raven said firmly.

"We shall see. You alone have the ability to free me; to let me loose on Earth." Trigon admitted, drumming his knuckles on the edge of his fiery throne. "But I can give you reasons."

"There's no reason worth my helping you." Raven insisted.

"Really? What about your dear friends?"

"My friends have nothing to do with this; it's between us!" Raven snapped.

"Wrong." Trigon spat at her. "You brought them into it! When you first became a Titans, when you sought out Logan after waking up – you brought this storm into their lives the moment you entered them! Now, you can open the portal, or I'll peel the flesh from their bones and wipe my ass with it."

"Points for the creative threat, but the answer is still no." Raven's smart-ass reply came at once.

Trigon stopped drumming his knuckles on the flaming throne and instead rested his chin on the back of his hand. He sighed and grinned sadistically. Then his eyes, all four of them, flashed a barrage of colors and Raven heard a horrifying sound. It was an inhuman cry, like some kind of hellish monster from a nightmare.

"That, Raven, is Sardoc." Trigon informed her.

"New pet?" Raven asked.

"No, he is your little brother." Trigon replied with a sick and twisted smile parting his red lips. "While your mother was human, his was a dark creature from the void. Unlike you, he has pride in what he is."

"Good for him." Raven, who had several hundred half-brothers and sisters from Trigon's overactive hormones, did not particularly care in getting to know Sardoc.

"I sent him to Earth. He is going to kill your friends if you do not open the portal." Trigon informed her smugly. "Take your pick Raven; open the portal or watch them die."

"You underestimate my friends." Raven replied coolly.

"No, you underestimate your brother. No matter; you will get to see what he is capable of. Rise and shine."

**

* * *

**

Raven's eyes opened and she looked up to see a church window. She was inside the sanctuary, apparently. She slowly sat up, only to find that someone was only a few feet away from her, kneeling at the alter and praying. She saw he was a man in blue and black, with long dark hair, but she didn't recognize him. Then he finished his prayer and turned around, and she saw his white eyes stare at her from behind the thin strip of a mask, and she knew who he was in an instant.

"Robin." She whispered.

"Normally I discourage people from calling me by that name." Nightwing replied as he stood up and walked over towards the bench she sat on. "But seeing as how it's you, I'll make an exception."

Nightwing smiled and sat down next to her. Raven closed her eyes, leaned back against the hard black wood of the bench, and heaved a sigh. She felt horrible after her meeting with her father, but waking up to see another friendly face she thought had been lost forever helped brighten her mood.

"How long have I been out?" Raven asked him.

"I don't know. Kori – that's what Starfire goes by now –" He added seeing the confused look on her face. "—and I just got here a few minutes ago."

Raven looked around and noticed that she and Nightwing were the only ones in the church; or at least in this room of it. She raised an eyebrow, as if to pose the question 'where is everybody', and Nightwing answered it before she had to vocalize it.

"Everyone else is in the other room. Arella's filling them in on everything."

Raven nodded and remembered that Slade still owed her an explanation as to how he ever got in contact with her mother. She tossed some of her hair back around her ear to get it away from her eye, and then asked him the most obvious question of all. "So why are you out here?"

"Arella isn't here in person, she's contacting us via a magical globe that's in the back, and Garfield said you looked too comfortable to move, so one of us had to stay out here and watch you." Nightwing explained.

"Why you?" Raven asked, and then she hesitated, realizing how that must have sounded. "I mean, why not –"

"Gar was going to stay with you originally, but Cyborg wisely pointed out that it might not be a good idea for Slade and I to be confined to a small space together." Once again, the genius detective was already ahead of her. Raven smiled a bit and then she leaned her head to the side and let it rest on his shoulder. Despite the dark times, she had another question she had to ask. It wasn't like her to gossip, but anyone who had known the Titans back in the day would have wanted to ask this.

"You and Starfire . . . came together?" Raven asked, but her real question was clear.

"Today was the first time I've seen her in years." Nightwing said, and she could not only hear the sadness in his voice at this confession, but she could feel his discomfort pulsating through him. She was good at sensing feelings; it was part of her powers, after all.

"I'm surprise." Raven admitted.

"Me too; if you'd asked me ten years ago, I would've said I'd have hoped Star and I would have little ones running around by now." Nightwing was only half-joking when he said this, she could tell from the dark humor and dry tone in his voice.

"I'm sorry." Raven whispered and she felt a tear well up in her eye.

"Don't be. It isn't your fault."

"No Robin . . . Nightwing, it _is_ my fault. If it wasn't for what happened to me, the Titans never would have split up. You and Starfire would have gotten together; Beast Boy never would've become the egotistical Hollywood icon he is –"

"It was _not_ your fault, it was Trigon's." Nightwing cut her off.

Suddenly Raven remembered the meeting she had with her father in her sleep, and her eyes widened in horror and she shot up. Fright pulsated through her body and she shook visibly. Nightwing noticed, as she knew he would, and he raised an eyebrow in an unasked question.

"We're in danger. Trigon's sending someone to kill you all because I refused to open the portal." She explained to him.

"Relax child, neither Trigon nor his minions can defile this sacred place."

Raven's head spun around so quickly she nearly fell off the bench. The door to the back room had opened and the group had emerged. Arella was leading the way, followed by Slade, Garfield, Kori and finally Cyborg. Raven's eyes widened at the sight of her mother and she mumbled to Nightwing at her side.

"I thought you said she wasn't here in person."

"She _wasn't_." Nightwing replied.

"I only just arrived." Arella explained. "I . . . did not wish to return to Earth, but I felt I must, for you."

Raven stood up and walked halfway towards her mother, silent tears in her eyes. She had lost ten years of her life, she had been confused to no end, and now she was reunited with the woman she hardly knew. Raven could only recall three occasions when she actually called Arella "mother". She was torn in two inside. Half of her wanted to break down, hug Arella, and break down sobbing in the face of all that had happened. However, Raven had never shown weakness like that, and she would not start now. She instead did what the rest of her wanted to do; she got mad and started demanding answers.

"What's going on Arella? What is this place? Why did you come back to this dimension? And why _the hell_ are you working with _him_?" She asked, jerking her finger at Slade.

"Charming daughter you have there." Slade hissed.

"Be quiet Wilson." Arella commanded, and Slade scowled at her, but did as she instructed.

"To answer your questions in order: You already know what is going on, your birthright is being fulfilled. Trigon wants you to open the portal so that he can destroy this world. That is why he seduced me; that is why he sired you. He wants this world." Arella explained in a quiet voice. "This place is just a simple church, but it was blessed by spells from the Azarathians, and it should repel Trigon's forces. I came back to Earth because you need my help right now, and I am not working with Slade, he is _working for me_. We have a mutually beneficial agreement."

"How about repeating that last part in English?" Raven inquired.

"As you are more or less aware, I previously had a contract with your father to deliver you to him." Slade took it upon himself to explain. "However, Trigon is an even bigger bastard than I, and he betrayed me. So I decided to get back at him the only way I know how; but partnering myself with his worse enemy, which in this case means helping your mother. Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn, after all." Slade smirked.

"Thank you Wilson that will do. Go stand watch outside." Arella dismissed Slade as if he was a butler. Slade scowled at her, but he did as she asked and he headed towards the front door, walking outside. Raven noticed the unusual glance that had passed between Slade and Arella as their eyes met, and she wondered if there was not a part of the story missing.

"You five were split apart because of Trigon ten years ago." Arella explained softly, her voice becoming quiet and her eyes turning away from her daughter and towards the group at large. "I have watched you all, just as I have watched my Raven. I know you have issues yet to work out and problems yet to overcome; but you must keep your personal matters aside until this is resolved. Raven is only safe as long as she stays in this church, if she exits it, Trigon will send his minions for her."

"Wait, so Rae's gotta live here forever?" Garfield asked, appalled at the idea.

"No. Raven cannot escape what she was born to do." Arella announced. "She will become the portal that will allow Trigon into this world."

"NO!" Raven shouted.

"Prophecy's are a funny thing, Raven." Arella smiled, which confused Raven, since she had just announced that Raven could do nothing to prevent the end of the world. "They are never wrong, but they are also never one hundred percent accurate."

"Huh?" Garfield scratched his head.

"She means that there are variables that can't be predicted." Nightwing wisely explained.

"Very good." Arella nodded to him. "In this case, the Prophecy clearly states that the gem – Raven – shall be Trigon's portal. It does not tell what fate awaits us after that, however. There is no mention of what will happen once Trigon comes to Earth. He will come, Raven will bring him here; that cannot be adverted. However, we can be ready, so that when he comes we can defeat him."

Raven suddenly felt a deep appreciation for her mother, an appreciation she had never felt before.

"The second Raven steps outside this church, Trigon's spirit shall take over and he shall force her to open the portal. However, we will be inside here, training and waiting. When you have all become strong enough to resist him, then we shall bring him here and defeat him. There are spare bedrooms in the back, I suggest you all get some sleep . . . tomorrow begins your training."

**

* * *

**

That night, Raven did not sleep.

She and Kori were sharing one of the bedrooms, with Garfield and Cyborg in the other back room.

Kori wasn't asleep either, so Raven rolled over in bed and stared at the redheaded girl in the bed next to hers.

"Hi." Kori smiled brightly.

"Hi." Raven replied in a monotone tone.

"I missed you." Kori admitted.

"Yeah. I wish I could say the feeling was mutual, but to me it still feels like no time has passed at all." Raven sighed.

"I know. It's got to be tough. I can't imagine." Kori bit her lip.

"Hmm. You've changed." Raven smiled.

"You mean the way I speak? Yeah, well, ten years in New York City will get rid of anyone's accent, even mine." Kori smiled back at her friend and laughed a little.

"No, not just that; you've changed a lot." Raven whispered.

"Well relax, I haven't changed as much as you think. My favorite color is still purple, and my favorite food is still mustard." Kori winked at her friend, and Raven felt warmth wash over her body.

"Thanks Star." Raven turned over onto her back and looked up at the ceiling.

"For what?" Kori asked, confused.

"For being the one person I've seen since I woke up who hasn't made my life more confusing."

"Raven, relax. Everything will be alright. Arella will teach you how to battle Trigon, and you'll defeat him."

"I'm not worried about Trigon." Raven said quietly. "We've dealt with evil before."

"Then what are you worried about?" Kori asked her friend, now intrigued by this strange declaration that Raven had made.

"I'm worried about what happens when Trigon's been defeated. I'm worried about afterwards, when this is all over. All of you have lives to go back too . . . my life pretty much ended ten years ago."

"That isn't true." Kori declared. "Your life was only put on pause. You can still make up for lost time. It won't be easy, but I'll be here for you. Whatever you decide to do after we beat Trigon, I will help you Raven. Just remember . . . it's your choice."

Raven mused. "My choice, huh?"

"Tell me, what do you want to do?" Kori asked with a sinister grin on her face.

"Honestly?" Raven asked, turning her face away from Kori.

"Yeah."

"I . . . I don't know." Raven said quietly.

"That's a lie." Kori nodded. "When you live in New York, you learn to recognize those too."

Raven sighed. "Fine. Honestly, I think . . . this sounds so strange to hear myself say this, but I think I'd like to find out just how serious Garfield is about his feelings for me."

Kori did something then that proved that the strange, normal-speaking redheaded woman in the opposite bed really was the same alien she knew from ten years ago. She let out a big girly squeal. "You like him!"

"I didn't say that." Raven said in a dark voice.

"You didn't say you don't, either." Kori grinned.

Raven suddenly felt like she was in a story about high school girls, and decided to roll over and go to sleep.

Besides, she didn't have an reply to what Kori had just said.

**

* * *

**

Nightwing was awake in the main cathedral, standing guard. He was not alone either. Slade was awake and standing watch too.

For a long time, neither of them spoke to one another. Only the candles on the wall lighted the room, and the chilly night air was freezing them both. Slade once again was dressed like he had been in the old days, in his black and silver bodysuit with the orange-and-black mask covering his face. Nightwing did not face him. Nightwing kept watch on the western side, Slade on the eastern. They didn't speak, at least not at first.

Then, Slade had to open his mouth.

Slade's left and only eye noticed Nightwing staring at the door that led to Raven and Kori's bedroom, and Slade let out a soft laugh. Nightwing turned to look at him with a dark look on his face.

"What's so funny?"

"You are."

"How so?"

"Be careful Robin, loving a woman can be hell." Slade warned him.

"If there is one person in this world I'm _not_ taking dating advice from, it's you." Nightwing spat. "And I said Raven could call me Robin; you don't have that luxury."

"You amuse me. You always have." Slade mused.

"Why is that?" Nightwing asked, suddenly. "What is this fascination you've always had with me?"

"Truthfully? You remind me of someone." Slade admitted.

"Don't you dare say it." Nightwing spat, already knowing who that someone was.

"Don't ask questions if you can't face the answers." Slade sagely said. "The truth is Robin, you and I are so much alike. That's why you should take my advice and just forget about Kori."

Nightwing's eye twitched beneath the mask and he felt his anger surging. "Why?"

"Because, like me, you fell for a woman stronger than you, and if you're not careful you might wind up with an eye-patch of your own one day." Slade informed him with a twisted laugh.

Nightwing's eyebrow rose a few inches. "Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Stop talking to me like we were friends."

"Robin, we're on the same side now. True, if I have my way then someday, preferably soon, I'll have the pleasure of ending your life; but that day is not today. We either work together as a team, or we die together. Trigon cannot be underestimated. That's why you need to relax, that's why you need to get some sleep, that's why you need to trust me; because neither of us stands a chance alone."

Nightwing said nothing. He just turned his face away from Slade, which only caused the old assassin to laugh once again. "You're such an idiot."

"Seeing as how I'm not falling for your bull, I think I'm rather clever."

"No, Robin, you're not." Slade sighed. "Disappointing really; you've been in Gotham with your old mentor, I had hoped you'd pick up a few things. Unfortunately, you're as green as ever. Obviously you lack the mind to figure out what I had tried to say in a less obvious way, so I'll spell it out for you: Stop thinking about Starfire or she will die."

That did it. In a flash Nightwing had leapt across the room and wrapped a gloved hand around Slade's throat. He slammed the one-eyed assassin into a wall and began to choke him.

"Don't you threaten her!" Nightwing warned.

"You idiot," Slade hissed. "It is not me who will kill her; it is Trigon. He can sense thoughts and emotions, just like Raven, but he's better at it. If he learns of your feelings for her, he will use that against you. I'm only telling you this so you'll save her life; so don't take your childish anger out on me."

With that, Slade kneed Nightwing in the groin and Nightwing fell to his knees, clutching himself in pain. Slade gasped for oxygen briefly as Nightwing's hand fell away from his neck and then he rubbed his sore neck with his own hand.

"Good to see you're still able to fight." Slade smirked.

"Why is that?" Nightwing spat. "You want to go?"

"No, but I think he does." Slade pointed a finger at the door of the church.

Nightwing looked, and what he saw made his entire body go numb, chilled to the bone.

There was something outside. Something that was big and ugly; something ready to kill them.

**

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**

**A/N**: As I said, shorter than I wish it was, but I'm afraid I'm out of time till Monday, and I wanted to update today, and I found a good stopping point; so… there you go! HEY! BBRae fans! If you haven't already, go check out my brand new BBRae story: "The Walls Of Jericho". It is a love triangle featuring the comic storyline of the Titans Jericho (who, for those of you who don't know, was Joseph Wilson; Slade's youngest son). You'll love it, so go read it; ok?


	8. Sardoc and Stolen Kisses

**Ten Years Later**

**By**

**Brandon "GoldenSama" Rice**

**Chapter Eight **

"Sardoc And Stolen Kisses"

**A/N: **I think the title should have everyone excited.

This chapter I shall dedicate to **Jimmy the Gothic Egg**, for three reasons. One, Jimmy has read this story and my other story, **_The Walls Of Jericho_**. Two, Jimmy has reviewed, and three, I just love that screen name. XD So enjoy dude.

**

* * *

**

Outside the window of the church, illuminated by a combination of light from the yellow glow of the street lamps and the pale silver of the moon, Nightwing saw something so horrible it looked like it had been dreamt up in a child's nightmare. The beast was long and lizard-like, standing on six scaly legs, and it had a tail that resembled that of a scorpion's. Its skin was black as pitch, with a strange red diamond pattern going down from just below the back of its neck all the way down its incredibly long tail. The beast's head was egg-shaped, and rows of razor sharp teeth protruded from its gums. It had three large eyes down either side of its smooth black face, and one large eye in the direct center, for seven monstrous red orbs staring at Slade and Nightwing. The beast flicked a long, snake-like tongue out at the church and made a hissing sound.

"What the hell is that?" Nightwing wondered aloud.

"Last time Trigon sent a human with demon powers after us, he saw that that plan failed, so now he's sending something much worse." Slade replied.

"Then we'll just have too –"

"Pipe down boy wonder." Slade cut him off before he could finish. "We are safe here. Arella's magic and the seal of the Azarathians are protecting this church and all those inside. Not even Trigon himself could get past that seal."

Nightwing paused and hesitated at the doorway to the old church. He turned towards Slade, half-torn by his hesitance to believe anything the assassin said, and his duty to protect his friends. "Are you sure?"

"Believe me boy; we are safe inside this building." Slade replied. "Arella's magic is strong and it will keep us safe."

Outside, the beast turned its egg-shaped head towards the door of the church and flicked its tongue out, smelling the air with it the same way a snake would. Then the beast made a horrible clicking noise so loud it was sure to wake up everyone in the back rooms. Sure enough, a moment later the door of Raven and Kori's bedroom opened and the two girls came out, in another second, Garfield and Cyborg joined the group forming in the main room. Finally, Arella appeared from the room they had all been speaking in earlier.

"What is it, Slade?" Arella demanded.

"It is one of Trigon's servants." Slade replied. "Big ugly thing, six legs, head like an egg, and scorpion tail."

"Sardoc." Arella's voice became incredibly quiet and her face paled a bit. Raven took immediate notice of this, and it seemed Slade did too, because behind his mask his single eye widened a bit.

"Who is Sardoc?" Raven asked her mother.

"He is the offspring of Trigon and the Queen of the Void, She'rah. Sardoc is terribly cruel and clever, and his powers are incredible." Arella explained, still speaking in a frightened tone.

Arella was a mystery to Raven. She could never quite figure her mother out. Arella had been a foolish teenager when she rejected her parents' beliefs and joined a cult that worshiped Trigon. She chose to be the sacrificial bride to Trigon, and the demon had taken her into his dark world and used her to sire a child: Raven. Arella went from a scared teenager, to the mother of Trigon's gem – the key to the apocalypse – in a blink of an eye. Then she had fled Earth to Azarath, and since then, she had changed. She was not a frightened child anymore; now she was dedicated to stopping the horrible fate she helped create. She loved her daughter, and pitied her for what her future had to hold. However, it was clear seeing her that she was still mortally terrified of Trigon and his minions.

"Can he get in here?" Slade asked, his voice was as icy as ever. He seemed oblivious to the fear in Arella's voice; or perhaps he just did not care.

"No. The seal will repel him." Arella sighed.

"Then we have nothing to worry about." Slade shrugged.

"Do not be so sure." Sardoc's voice was like a lion's roar. It was so loud and terrible that the walls shook. The group collectively turned to the door to find the monster's egg-shaped black head pressed right up against the window so he could look at them with his seven horrible eyes. "Hello dear sister. I am Sardoc."

"You are butt-ugly, is what you are." Garfield snapped at the beast.

"You are amusing green one." Sardoc roared. "However, it will not save lives. Raven, come out to me; our father commands it!"

"Well, you can tell daddy to bite me." Raven's sarcasm was as thick as it had ever been, but behind her mask of bravery, she was afraid.

"Foolish mortal, I cannot harm you, but San Francisco is full of innocent blood to spill. Perhaps I will visit an orphanage. On the other hand, a residential neighborhood would be good too; oh, I know a hospital full of sick children. I am hungry, you know." Sardoc's gigantic egg-shaped head twisted as his lips became a sick smile.

"No, I'll come." Raven called to the beast.

"No you won't." Slade stepped in front of her, blocking her path to the door.

"Get out of my way." Raven growled.

"If you go out that door, Trigon will be summoned, and you are not strong enough to face him yet." Slade replied, ignoring her threat. "You leave now and everyone on this planet dies. A few hundred children die now, to protect a few **billion** later. That's fair, wouldn't you say?"

"I'm not going to stand around and let that thing devour people!" Raven snapped. However, Arella stepped forward and placed a hand on Raven's shoulder.

"Slade is correct Raven, if you leave now, you are dooming everyone." Arella spoke softly. Raven rounded on her mother and glared at her with complete resentment in her eyes.

"How can you say that? How can you expect me to stay put and let it kill people? I can't have their blood on my hands, mother!" Raven shouted at Arella.

"Stupid girl, if you leave now you'll have even more blood on your hands." Slade spoke up. Raven glared at him with hatred in her eyes, and her hands began to glow with swirling black energy.

"That's enough, all of you." Nightwing stepped between Raven and Slade. "Raven, Slade's right, _you_ have to stay in here; the rest of us don't."

With that, Nightwing unlatched the window and jumped out onto the street. He turned and saw the gigantic scorpion-like beast, which had lifted his head so that three of its monstrous eyes were facing Nightwing. Nightwing heard the sound of thunder, and felt rain begin to spatter his body. A second later he saw the beast swing its scorpion-tail right at him, and Nightwing did a back flip to dodge it.

As soon as he came out of the back flip, Nightwing grabbed a golden disc from his belt and lobbed it at the monster. The disc hit one of its enormous legs and exploded with a bright light. Sardoc scoffed and turned so that his head was facing Nightwing.

"Irritating creature." He growled. The hook on the end of his tail suddenly flipped up and fired a bright red blast at Nightwing, who jumped to the side to dodge it. The red light hit the ground where Nightwing had been standing and blew a hole six feet deep by three feet wide.

"HYAH!"

Several green bolts of light pelted Sardoc's head from above. Sardoc flipped the two highest eyes on his head towards Kori, who was flying through the air throwing starbolts. Sardoc turned his tail towards her, but before he could fire a blast at her, he screamed out in pain as his center eye was shot with a sonic cannon blast. Cyborg had opened the door and fired right into Sardoc's main eye.

"Damn you mortals!" Sardoc screamed as he reared up on his back legs. He waved his other four limbs in the air trying to knock down the flying Kori, while his tail continued to fire shots at Nightwing, who had to dodge them. That is when Garfield jumped from out of the church and assumed the form of a large green tyrannosaurs rex, and then he charged forward and bit Sardoc's left middle leg, tearing it off with his teeth.

"ARGH!" Sardoc screamed and turned his head to face the green T-rex. Garfield dropped the severed leg from his mouth and roared in Sardoc's face, showing him he was not afraid.

Sardoc roared back, and his roar was so loud it shook the ground. Garfield, still a rex, sweatdropped and started to take a step backwards, which prompted a scream from Arella.

"No! Stay back!" She cried, but it was too late.

Garfield's tail had toppled into the top of the church and knocked over a statue of an angel holding a sword. The statue hit the ground and broke; although the sword, which for some reason appeared to be a real blade, rolled free of the stone and across the street.

"You idiot! That sword was the seal of Azarath; without it the church is unprotected!" Slade yelled, which caused everyone involved to suddenly tense up. A moment later Raven screamed as symbols began to appear all over her body. She fell to her knees, holding her arms in pain and trying to fight back the tears. It felt like a thousand tine needles were inside her, trying to push their way out of her skin. Searing hot pains shot through every inch of her body and she felt like she was dying.

"Slade, get the sword!" Arella screamed.

Slade jumped from out of the door of the church and ran across the street, towards the fallen sword. Sardoc twisted his tail, aimed it at Slade, and fired another blast of light; but in a move that surprised Slade as much as it did Sardoc, Nightwing dove by in the last possible second and tackled Slade to the ground, knocking him away from the beam and out of danger.

"I guess you've finally started trusting me, Robin." Slade laughed as he jumped back to his feet.

"Shut up. We have to work together; it doesn't mean we have to talk to each other." Nightwing snapped, and then he turned and threw another explosive disc at Sardoc. Sardoc's mouth was agape when he threw the disc, and it sailed right under his snake-like tongue. An explosion went off inside the demon's mouth and Sardoc screamed in pain. That pain doubled a second later when Kori fired lasers from her eyes and cut off the tip of his scorpion-tail.

While Sardoc screamed out in pain and snapped his jaws trying to eat Kori, Slade and Nightwing continued running towards the sword that lay at one of Sardoc's massive clawed feet. Slade jumped over the monster's foot and grabbed the hilt of the blade, and then he turned and stabbed Sardoc in the leg.

Sardoc screamed once again, this time his cry of pain was so loud the ground shook like an earthquake. The sword was glimmering white and sparks of pure-white fire were shooting from the wound. Slade withdrew the sword and slashed again, hacking Sardoc's foot clean off. The foot burst into bright, white fire and flames of the same color began to burn up his leg from the point of the slash. Sardoc flicked his tail down and hit Slade hard in the side, sending him flying across the street into a parked car. Luckily, the tip of his tail was gone; or Slade would have died. Still, even without the stinger at the end, Slade got hit with enough force that it could have seriously injured him.

The sword had fallen loose of Slade's hand when Sardoc hit him, and it rolled across the ground. Nightwing followed it, and Sardoc saw this in one of his eyes. The beast roared and aimed one of his arms at Nightwing, but Cyborg shot Sardoc's leg on its way towards Nightwing and knocked it off course.

Nightwing reached the sword and picked it up. He turned around quickly and charged right at Sardoc with a plan. As he ran, he grabbed his rappelling hook from his belt and fired it straight at Sardoc's face. The hook smashed into one of the twin serpent-like slits Sardoc used as a nose, and Nightwing jumped and swung on the rappelling line. He wound up landing right in Sardoc's mouth, standing on the edge of his giant snake tongue.

"That was a bad idea." Sardoc scoffed, and then he closed his mouth.

A split-second later Sardoc screamed and opened his mouth again. Nightwing had simply held up the sword above his head and leg Sardoc's mouth close on the end of the blade. The demon's head burst into white flames and he began to shake his head from side to side in a feeble attempt to extinguish them. Nightwing's hand closed around the hilt of the sword and he ripped it from Sardoc's head and then slashed his tongue, causing the magical white flames to begin burning the bottom of his mouth too. Nightwing leapt from out of Sardoc's open mouth and landed gracefully on the street, near the church steps where Arella and Raven stood watching the battle. Raven had stopped screaming, but the demon symbols were still blazing red on her pale skin and she looked like she was in pain.

Sardoc's head burnt and the demon roared one final time, then his legs gave way and he fell onto his giant stomach and died.

"Whoa." Garfield simply said as he returned to the church steps. Cyborg and Kori also found their way back to the group. "It's over, I guess."

At that moment, the sky ripped open and red light flooded the street.

"You just had to say it." Cyborg sighed.

The body of Sardoc vanished as the red light engulfed it; and then the tear in the sky vanished. Everyone instantly turned to Arella for an explanation, but Arella seemed distant, as if her mind was elsewhere. "She'rah, the Queen of the Void – Sardoc's mother – took her body. You need not worry, the battle is won."

Before any of them could celebrate, Arella turned to Nightwing. "Take that sword and stick it back into the roof of this church; now!"

Nightwing nodded and handed the sword to Kori, who flew up quickly and impaled the sword into the roof upside down. Suddenly Raven, whose body was still glowing from the demon runes, let out a soft sigh of relief and the runes vanished from her skin as quickly as they had appeared.

"You okay Rae?" Garfield asked as he bent down next to her. Raven was sitting on the top church step, rubbing her shoulder.

"I'm fine." Raven lied, and he knew it was not true, but he also knew she did not want to talk about her troubles, so he left it at that.

"I have but one more request of you." Arella said to Nightwing, this time she was less worried than before, but her voice still held a somber tone.

"Just name it." Nightwing replied with a grin.

"Please retrieve Slade so that I may heal him before he dies." Arella requested. Nightwing's face seemed to fall; the grin had vanished in an instant.

"We don't need him, Arella. We can protect Raven just fine without his help." Nightwing surprised his old friends – especially Kori – when he said this. It wasn't like Dick Grayson to leave someone to die, even if they were a villain. Slade seemed to be a special circumstance, anyway.

"Please do as I ask, Nightwing. If you will not, I will go over there to heal him – though I'd imagine the second I step off the protected church ground, Trigon will kill me." Arella informed him, confirming Nightwing's worst suspicion. He was a detective, perhaps the best that ever lived, and he had noticed it before now; but this was the nail in the coffin.

"Fine." Nightwing said bitterly, then he nodded to Cyborg and the two of them walked across the street to where Slade lay against the door of the car. Slade lifted his head as they approached and Nightwing could see a trickle of blood escaping from beneath his mask, which was cracked in many places.

"I'm bleeding internally, you know." Slade whispered as Nightwing approached him. "Leave me, and I will die."

"Don't tempt me." Nightwing replied with the same bitter tone. Cyborg lifted Slade into his arms, and the two heroes returned to the church. Slade did not say another word, but he remained conscious the entire time, his eye fixed on the sky above them.

**

* * *

**

In the realm of fire, Trigon let loose of a roar of anger. He waved his arm, and several of the floating black diamonds that held demons on them turned upside down, causing the demons to fall straight into the flaming lava at Trigon's feet and burn up with screams of suffering. Not even the pain he inflicted on his underlings seemed able to calm Trigon's temper right now, though.

"Damn it! We can do nothing like this! That Church repels our kind, and my daughter shall be taught the way of Azarath; she will learn to overcome me!" Trigon announced to the darkness. He slammed his fists on his throne like an angry child who did not get his way.

"My lord, perhaps there is another approach?" One of the demons spoke up. Trigon turned to the small demon and raised one of his massive eyebrows.

"What approach would that be?" Trigon demanded to know.

"Well . . . you said the seal repels our kind. So why don't you use a human? Hire a human to break into the church and kidnap Raven; this would solve the problem of the sword." The demon informed his master. "The Titans have many enemies; surely one of them would help you."

Trigon grinned. He liked this idea.

**

* * *

**

The Titans good night sleep was ruined, but Arella had insisted that everyone go back to bed and try to get some sleep. Nightwing insisted on staying awake, in case Trigon should send another of his foul creatures after them, so that is what he did. Kori also elected to remain awake, since Slade needed a bed to rest in while Arella nursed his wounds. Kori had offered her bed, so that Arella could both heal Slade and be near her daughter. Well, that was part of the reason anyway.

Now Kori sat on the end of one of the benches, Nightwing stood pacing around the room. For a long time they sat in complete silence. It was an awkward, uncomfortable silence. Not like the one he had shared with Slade before Slade started giving him advice. This silence was worse. With Slade, their history had been hate for as long as Nightwing could remember. It was only natural that they would share such a discomforting moment being alone together. However, being alone with Kori Anders, the woman formally known as Starfire, was very different. He wanted to say something, but he did not know what to say.

Nightwing could see the clear flaw in Arella's plan. She wanted to reunite the Titans to help Raven in this time of crisis. It was a wise plan, but it had a serious, dangerous flaw in its perfection. The Titans had drifted apart. Nightwing had noticed that Garfield barely spoke to him, obviously because of what had happened ten years ago when the two of them had argued and that argument led to the break up of the Teen Titans. Kori was just as big a problem, if not bigger.

"Did you ever think about me?"

Nightwing's thoughts were shattered by Kori's voice. He turned around to see her lying on the bench with her long legs dangling off one end and her long red hair seeping down between the cracks on the wood. Her eyes were facing the ceiling, and not him.

"What?"

"While you were in Gotham, did you ever think about me?" Kori repeated, then without waiting for an answer, she continued speaking. "I used to think about you."

". . . Yes. I don't think a day has gone by that I haven't thought about you." Nightwing admitted in a low voice.

"Once, I did a fashion show in Gotham. Three years ago." Kori informed him. "You were there, weren't you?"

"Yeah, I was." Nightwing replied, still speaking with his voice just above a whisper. "I watched from out of the window."

Nightwing realized he was walking closer to the bench where she lay. He bent down onto his knees, so that he was closer to her level, and she turned her face to look at his.

"Why didn't you say anything to me?" Kori asked him.

"You were doing a fashion show. I didn't want to deprive the public of getting to see you parading around the walkway." Nightwing replied with a slight grin spreading his lips.

"You could have talked to me after the show. I'm not so naive anymore, an answer like that won't work on me." Kori replied. She kept her green eyes staring into his masked ones.

"I didn't think you'd want to talk to me." Nightwing admitted.

"Actually, I did want too. That's the reason I did a show in Gotham. I hoped you'd come see me. I had hoped you'd come and we'd make up, the way I always dreamed we would, but you never showed, and I assumed that meant you'd gotten over me." Kori whispered.

"If you wanted to make up, why were you so hostile when I came to see you in New York the other day?" Nightwing asked, and as he did, his eyebrow rose.

"I was still mad at you." Kori explained.

"What about now? You still mad now?" Nightwing found himself asking the question before he could stop himself.

"No, I'm not." She responded, and it surprised Nightwing.

"What changed your mind?" He asked her.

"Seeing you lately; you've been the person I remembered. The way you protected Raven, the way you fought Sardoc . . . that's the boy I fell for." Kori's lips twitched into a smile, and she twirled a lock of his long dark hair around her finger. "Although you could use a haircut, long-hair is out on men this season."

Nightwing laughed. "Unbelievable."

"What is?"

"You're the queen of fashion now, but I still remember the time you used a Raven's hair brush as a tooth brush." Nightwing reminisced of her first week on earth. Kori's cheeks reddened a bit and she playfully punched his shoulder. Although even a playful punch from a Tamaranian with super-strength hurt. Nightwing ignored the pain; because the pleasure was so much better. Kori was not mad at him anymore, and that was worth a sore shoulder any day.

"So, we've officially made up then?" Nightwing asked her, extending his hand. "We're friends again?"

Kori shook her head and sat up on the bench, twisting around so that she was sitting directly in front of him. She crossed her legs, and then she knocked his hand away and leaned in close to him, so close their noses were touching.

"No. I don't want to be friends. This time, it's all or nothing." Kori informed him.

"This time it's 'all or nothing', huh?" Nightwing repeated. "And just what did you have in mind?"

"Dick. You have three seconds to shut up and kiss me, or I'm going back to pretending like I don't like you." Kori warned him.

Nightwing seemed to get the message, because he slipped a hand around her head and pulled her into a deep kiss. Kori's green eyes widened. This is something she had been waiting a long time for, after all. All those years of hating him, pretending that she had forgotten him; they had been pointless, she now knew. Nightwing stole her heart ten years ago, and he still had it. Then he deepened the kiss, and as his tongue invaded the privacy of her mouth, her brain refused to think about anything anymore except for how good this moment was.

**

* * *

**

"Hey Kori, you think –" Garfield had appeared, coming out of his and Cyborg's room. He paused as he noticed Kori and Nightwing kissing, his face reddened, and he quickly turned around and went back inside his room.

"That was fast, what she say?" Cyborg asked as he returned.

"Dude, she's busy." Garfield replied with a small grin.

"Damn. Well, I guess we'll have to ask Nightwing to help us out, then."

"He's busy too." Garfield snickered.

"Huh, what do you mean . . . oh . . ." It dawned on Cyborg what Garfield meant from what he said, the way he said it, and the look on his face. "Well, I saw that comin' a mile away."

Garfield nodded and jumped down onto the foot of his bed. "Yeah, I did too. Although I hope they remember we're in a church."

Cyborg laughed and slapped his knee. "Good one BB." Cyborg sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Man, things really are like old times, aren't they?"

"Just like they used to be, well, aside from the fact we're all older, there's no big T, and I'm a hellova lot sexier with my beard." Garfield announced.

"Mmmhmm. Yeah, well two out of three right answers is your usual." Cyborg teased him.

"Shut up man." Garfield lamely replied.

"Nice comeback BB. How old are you, twelve?" Cyborg raised a metallic eyebrow.

"I'm twenty-six thank you very much, now shut up or switch off or something." Garfield snapped.

"Whatever you say Mr. Hollywood, but I think I know what's really bugging you." Cyborg sneered.

"What do you mean?" Garfield asked.

"Starfire's been mad at Robin for ten years, but it hasn't been twenty four hours since they saw each other again, and already they're getting their groove on." Cyborg reminded him. "You stayed at Raven's side faithfully all this time, and she hasn't so much as batted an eyelash at you. I think you're jealous."

Garfield's face darkened and he shot Cyborg a dangerous glare. "Dude. I'll say it again. **Shut up**."

Cyborg laughed. He was right, and he knew it.

**

* * *

**

Raven was sitting on the edge of her bed, in the worst mood she had been in since waking up. Her father was hell-bent on getting her to open the portal, and already he had proven he was willing to send his worst minions after her. Sardoc had been serious about his plans to kill sick children and innocent people to get her, and she realized just how evil her father and his servants were.

That was only half the problem. The other half was right in front of her. Slade was lying on the bed, no longer in his battle suit. He had lost his mask and shirt, and Arella had her hands on his battle-scarred chest, chanting an old healing spell and trying to stop his internal bleeding. Slade's eye was closed and his head was resting back on the pillow. He seemed to be asleep.

"Why do you let him work for you?" Raven asked her mother.

"He's very good at what he does." Arella replied.

"He's evil. Just like Trigon."

"No. He is a mercenary. He works for money. That makes him greedy, not evil." Arella replied, and it shocked Raven that she would defend Slade. "He is good when a good man hires him and evil when an evil one does. I am a good person, and he is working for me now."

"That's a load of crap." Raven warned her mother. "No one ever hired him to come after the Titans."

"Not true, actually." Slade spoke, his eye was still closed, but apparently, he was not as asleep as Raven thought he was. "The first time our paths crossed was because someone hired me. After that, I did go after you on my own, yes; because I liked the challenge."

"That doesn't make it any less evil." Raven snapped.

"I'm not saying I'm one of the good guys, Raven. I most certainly am not. However, can you really compare my evil to that of Trigon's? I cause criminal activity in a city; he destroys entire planets, annihilating entire races. He thrives on murder, rape and carnage of all kinds; I only kill when I have too. There is a big difference between me and your father." Slade defended himself.

"Evil is evil. It doesn't matter to me if you're killing one innocent man, or one million; it's the same thing." Raven insisted.

"Hmm. You live in an idealistically dream world, Raven. Sometimes people have to die." Slade replied.

"I know." Raven replied. "I'm not saying your evil for killing people. I've killed before, and I'll probably kill again. There is a difference, though, Slade. The _only_ people I kill are evil; you kill innocent people without regret."

Slade nodded. "You have a valid point."

Raven sighed and stood up; she quickly walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Arella asked.

"Anywhere that is away from him." Raven replied, and she phased right through the door using her powers. Slade watched her go, and then he turned his face to Arella. She had tears streaming down her face.

"Don't cry because of her." Slade told her.

"Silence Wilson, you don't understand." Arella snapped at him. "She may have the body of a adult, but her mind is still that of a child. She cannot change her ways. She is too emotional and headstrong, and Trigon will use that against her. He will kill her."

"Idiot woman, don't give up now!" Slade yelled, and Arella was so taken aback she stopped her tears and stared at him. "The girl needs you to teach her. She cannot defeat Trigon because she is too emotional; so teach her to be otherwise! You do what you have to do, and so will I; just like we planned."

Arella nodded. "You are right. We cannot change things now. We must proceed with the plan."

With that, the conversation died, and Arella took her hands off Slade's chest. She tilted her head and then stood up. "You are healed."

It was Slade's turn to stand. He stood and flexed for a moment, then he grinned when it occurred to him that he was back to full potential, healed of every injury that he had sustained. "Excellent."

Slade picked up his shirt and put it back on, and then he re-clasped the metallic shoulder guard he wore and pulled up his hood. He picked up his mask, but before he could put it on Arella's hand stopped him and he turned to face her.

"Yes?" Slade asked.

"Slade, protect my daughter." Arella said in a whisper.

"That's what you hired me to do." Slade put his mask on. "So that is what I will do."

Slade took a step towards the door, when Arella's voice stopped him once again.

"Is that why you are doing this?" Arella asked him.

"Arella, I'm doing this for three reasons. One, because Trigon screwed me over, and nobody screws Slade Wilson. Two, you told me what will happen if Raven defeats him, and personally I'd like to see that happen." Slade said, and then he continued walking towards the door. As he twisted the doorknob, she spoke one last time.

"What is the third?"

"You already know the third."

With that he stepped out of the door and closed it behind him, as he did he ran directly into Raven, who was stooped in the shadows. She turned around to see who bumped into her, and she glared when she saw him. Slade smiled beneath his mask.

"Spying on Robin and Starfire? How cute." Slade taunted her as he noticed Nightwing and Kori, who were still lip-locked on the other side of the room.

"I was not spying. I'm waiting for them to finish so I can get to Garfield's room." Raven said matter-of-factly.

"Why? You want some naughty time yourself?" Slade asked her, and her eyes widened. "Oh please, it doesn't take a criminal genius to know there's something hanging between you and the green one."

Raven glared darkly. "Stay out of my personal life, Slade."

"Dear Raven, I'm already in your personal life more than you realize." Slade whispered darkly and she felt her skin crawl beneath his gaze.

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that." Raven snapped. "I don't know what game your playing, pretending to work for my mother, but whatever your after, it won't work."

"Has it ever occurred to you that perhaps Arella is helping me get revenge on Trigon, and that is why I'm here?" Slade asked.

"You wouldn't side with us just for revenge. It's not your style. You'd follow us, wait till we were fighting him, and then you'd strike while he was preoccupied and kill both Trigon and us." Raven announced. "_That_ is more your style. This means you have an ulterior motive for working for my mother."

"Good point." Slade admitted.

"She was married to an intergalactic demon, Slade. She can deal with anything you have planned." Raven told him.

"Well, Addie was no demon, but I had a pretty rough marriage too, you know." Slade joked, and he saw how much this infuriated Raven, who looked ready to strike him. "Relax Raven. For the umpteenth time, I'm on your side. I have reasons for working with you Titans and for Arella. What those reasons are, are my business, not yours."

With that, Slade pushed past her and walked out into the main room.

"Robin." Slade called to his former apprentice, and Nightwing and Kori broke apart at last, both instantly turning red upon realizing they had an audience. "I'm glad to see you made up, but right now we have business to discuss, so I need to talk to you."

Nightwing glared at Slade. Slade laughed.

Raven sighed. Things were very confusing. She was happy that Nightwing and Kori had made up (and made out) but she was still distressed over her mother and whatever kind of shady deal she had made with Slade. She was also worried about Garfield, and she had not forgotten what she read in his book.

Raven sighed again, sat down on a bench beneath a hanging cross, and she lowered her head. It was going to be a long night.

**

* * *

**


	9. Trigon's Trap

**Ten Years Later**

**By**

**Brandon "GoldenSama" Rice**

**Chapter Nine **

"Trigon's Trap"

**A/N: **I just found out that last time I updated, on the eighth, it was **AstaOmega11**'s birthday. Well, happy birthday dude, and for a present I shall dedicate this chapter to you! **BB/Rae fans rejoice**, your moment has finally come! With that said – go enjoy the fic! In addition, because I have learned that having review replies will, for some reason, result in your story being removed; I have removed all review replies. XX Sorry.

**

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**

Nightwing swung his bo-staff, but Slade dodge it easily and counter with his own staff, knocking Nightwing down. Nightwing hit the ground of the church with a heavy thud and he grunted. Slade shook his head.

"Not good enough Robin." Slade informed him as their training session paused.

"For the last time, that isn't my name anymore." Nightwing snapped, jumping to his feet and aiming a kick at Slade's head. Slade lifted his hand and blocked the kick, then he grabbed Nightwing's ankle and twisted his leg around. Nightwing let out a grunt of pain as Slade kicked him in the stomach.

"You want me to call you Nightwing, prove to me that you deserve it." Slade snapped. "Nightwing was a Kryptonian Superhero, a legend among his people; what makes you think you deserve that name?"

Nightwing was shocked that Slade knew where he had gotten the name. Indeed, he had chosen to call himself Nightwing in honor of a Kryptonian hero that Superman had once told him about while he was visiting Gotham. He glared at Slade, did a back flip and hurled a disc at Slade. Slade sidestepped the disc, which froze the wall solid where it hit. However, Slade walked right into Nightwing's real attack and the former boy wonder kicked Slade hard in the side of the face, knocking him to the ground.

"What makes you think I don't?" Nightwing smirked as Slade picked himself up off the ground.

"That's better _Robin_, much better." Slade admitted, then he charged forward in a flash. Nightwing back-flipped and tried to kick Slade, but Slade caught his foot and threw Nightwing into a nearby wall. "But you are still out of your league."

Raven watched the fight without any particular interest. She was still brooding about the things going on, and the things she suspected were going on. Kori was a few feet away from her, also watching the sparring match with interest, but Raven could not be as enthusiastic about it. Raven sighed again, and that is when she felt a presence beside her. She turned to see Garfield standing at her right.

"What is it?" She asked him.

"You look stressed." Garfield informed her.

"Gee, I wonder why that is?" Raven sarcastically replied.

"You need to chill Rae. C'mon, come hang out with me."

"What?" Raven raised an eyebrow.

"I'm serious. Cyborg's sleeping and I need some advice on how to write the last episode of _Space Trek_." Garfield told her, and then he lifted his hand up to show her a old notebook with the words 'Space Trek Finale' written across the top.

"I don't think I could be much help." Raven admitted to him.

"You don't have to contribute to it. Just come hang out with me while I write it. Please? I need inspiration, and it'll do you some good to chill for a few minutes." Garfield pointed out.

"My father could send another of his minions after us at any moment. We could all be dead by tomorrow morning, and you're thinking about a television show?" Raven's eyebrow rose.

"TV's helpful during Armageddon." Garfield insisted, and when he saw her skeptic look, he laughed. "Seriously! Look at every major crisis in world history. World War II, terrorist attacks, the AIDS outbreak; people have always been able to turn to TV to escape the crappy world. If a big ugly demon is going to come kill us all, then I know my fans don't want to die without seeing the ending of the show."

Raven cracked a small, sleepy smile. "Fine, I'll hang out with you until my mother's ready to teach me the spells to defeat Trigon."

"Deal!" Garfield squealed happily, then he grabbed her hand and pulled her back into the bedroom she and Kori shared. He closed the door behind them and then ran up and sat on the bed, propping open his notebook and taking a pen and a penny out of his pocket. Raven recognized the coin as his 'lucky penny' and she shook her head, amazed that he still had it after all these years.

"So what happens in this finale?"

"Well, Lowery, that's my character, is up on this old space temple, looking for this tablet thingy to wake Sparrow, that's his girlfriend, up from the spell thingy." Garfield explained, not looking at her the entire time. He knew she was smart enough to see the resemblance between herself and Sparrow, and she knew the implication that it made.

"Right." Raven decided that, for his sake, she would pretend to be interested.

"Yeah. Well, he gets in the temple, and then this space demon dude attacks him, and that's where I get stuck." Garfield said, and she noticed a strange tone in his voice, as if he had rehearsed this conversation repeatedly in his head.

"Why do you get stuck?" Raven asked him.

"Well, I don't know if Lowery should defeat the demon dude and save Sparrow, and then fall happily in love with her, or if the demon dude should kill him and he dies without ever telling her that he loves her." Garfield said, rather quietly.

"You know, you're pathetically obvious." Raven said bluntly.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Garfield asked.

"Garfield, let's just get this out of the way." Raven told him.

"Get what out of the –"

"**Don't**. Don't play dumb. Not about this." Raven warned him in a stern, serious, cold voice. Garfield looked at her, staring straight into her eyes, then he sighed and nodded.

"Is this about what I wrote in my book?" Garfield asked her.

"Yes." Raven replied bluntly once more. She did not break her stare at him, which caused him to blush and look away. "And this is about you making a character based on me, who is the lost love of your character in Space Trek."

Garfield shifted beneath her gaze. "Do we have to talk about this now?"

"Don't you want too?" Raven asked him. "You wanted too back in your kitchen."

"I know, but I'm worried." Garfield admitted. "I'm worried about what you're going to say. I . . . Rae, I . . ."

"Garfield." Raven said abruptly with a gentle tone in her voice. It was not the usual cold seriousness that he was used too, and he did not know what to make of the change. "Just tell me how you feel."

"How I feel? Rae, I . . . ten years ago. I used to think about you ever day, you know? I used to think about you from the time I'd wake up till I'd go to sleep, and I'd dream about you in-between. . . . Okay, forget what I just said, I sound like a stalker, huh?" Garfield was getting nervous, and trying to cover his nerves with jokes.

Raven sighed and sat down on the bed next to him. She reached down and picked up his lucky penny, then she looked at him and she wondered how silly she must look. Here she was, discussing his crush on her and his television show while the fate of everyone on the planet hung in the balance. It was stupid, selfish and wrong. She would not, and could not, be doing this now.

However, part of her argued against that. Part of her reminded her that Trigon the Terrible, the demon lord who had slaughtered entire civilizations for thousands of years, had his sights set on Earth. Part of her reminded her that unless they got very lucky, they would all be dead soon and it would be her fault. Part of her reminded her just how much she wanted this. She could deny to him, or to anyone else, her feelings; but not to herself. For reasons unknown to her, she had fallen for him ten years ago. He had gone from annoying grass stain to a trusted friend and would have become much more if circumstances had allowed it. Now she was sitting here and she realized that she controlled fate.

She had control over what happened next. If she rejected him now, that was it. There would be no second chance, and there would never be anything between them. If she accepted him now, then what did that mean? Certainly she and Garfield would not wind up like Nightwing and Starfire? No, that Raven could not see happening. No . . . much more likely her father would use her feelings for him against her, and it would make him a target.

However, Raven knew the feelings were there one way or another. Trigon would sense them one way or another. It did not matter whether something happened between her and Garfield or not, she knew how she felt about him, and Trigon would too. Trigon would target him for her feelings whether she shared them with him or not, so what was the point in denying them and denying herself the temporary pleasure of his company if he would still suffer for it later? It was not fair. It was not fair that he had to suffer because he loved her, and it was even less fair that she loved him back, sealing his fate.

Raven paused. She loved him?

Did she? Her subconscious mind told her yes, she did. She had ten years ago, and she still did now. Not that Raven was an expert on love. The Azar who raised her on Azarath had not loved her. No one on Azarath did. Aside from the Azar and Arella, everyone else on Azarath hated her for what she was and what she would become. Her mother . . . Raven could not say she loved Arella. She had affection for her mother, and respect, but she did not know if it ever went past that. Her friends . . . Nightwing, Kori, Cyborg . . . yes, she loved them, but that love was different.

"Forget I said anything Rae."

Raven was shaken from her thoughts. She realized that they had been sitting in silence for a long time, and with every second that she had not replied to him, he had started to feel more dejected. He had stood up and began approaching the door, and she'd been so lost in thought she had failed to even notice. He took this as a hint that she did not want to speak to him.

"No, wait." Raven called quietly. He paused at the door, his hand on the handle.

"What?" He asked, his voice filled with a mixture of desperation, hope and dejection.

"I . . . I feel the same way." Raven whispered, and then she shut her eyes and bit her tongue after she uttered those words. She knew she had just elevated Garfield Logan to Trigon's new primary target.

"What?" Garfield repeated, this time his voice held only one emotion: shock.

"I don't know why. God knows you bug the crap out of me . . . but I . . . I feel the same way about you that you do about me." Raven opened her eyes again, and he was right in front of her. He had an unreadable expression on his face. It was halfway between happiness and disbelief. He tilted his head to the side, like a dog would when confused, and stared at her.

"Do you mean you love me?" Garfield asked her at length.

"That's what I said." Raven replied, a cold shiver going down her spine.

"No." Garfield shook his head. "You didn't say that. You implied it, but you didn't say it."

Raven looked down at her lap, away from him, but a second later his hand was on her chin forcing her face back up to meet his eyes. She contemplated blasting him with her psychic powers, but decided against it. She would just have to suffer through this. Her eyes met his and he pleaded silently, without words, with his large round eyes.

"Say it Rae." Garfield pleaded.

"What does it matter?" She asked him, on the defensive.

"I want to hear you say it." Garfield responded quietly.

"Garfield, I'm not good at things like this." Raven admitted.

"Say it." Garfield pressured her even further with annoying persistence.

". . . I . . ." Raven stammered.

"Don't be afraid, Raven." Garfield reassured her.

". . . I love you. Are you happy now?" Raven said quickly.

"Are you just saying that?" Garfield teased her.

"Don't push me." Raven warned him.

"Sorry Rae." Garfield smiled. "But yeah, I am happy. I love you two, by the way."

"'By the way', boy don't I feel special?" Raven rolled her eyes in sarcasm.

Garfield smiled like a child in a candy store, and before Raven realized what was happening next, he had his arms wrapped around her pulling her into an uncomfortable hug. Not that it was physically discomforting, actually quite on the contrary. Raven felt a kind of quiet warm settle in her stomach as he hugged her tightly, and while he was pressing his body against her Raven felt as if she was finally at peace for the first time since waking up from her coma. However, the discomfort came with the knowledge that she had now made him Trigon's prime target, and she knew it.

When he broke away, he looked at her and he sighed. He could see the discomfort building in her face, and she wished she could explain to him what was wrong. She wished she had a way to make him understand how she felt, but there was no way to do that. She was still having a hard time adjusting to everything, and this was not helping. Well, no, that was only half true.

He was helping. Knowing he loved her helped in more ways than she could possibly explain to him. She did not fully understand her attraction to Garfield, but she knew that in her heart she felt better knowing he shared her feelings. It gave her hope that when this entire thing was over and everything with Trigon was said and done, they may have a possibility of a happy future.

Raven sighed. She knew chances were low on that, since the future was uncertain and the only thing she could count on was her father doing something horrible.

"I'm going to go." Raven announced, standing up.

"What? No, Rae, stay." Garfield pleaded.

"I need to get some sleep. Arella wants me to begin my training in the morning." Raven reminded him. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Raven turned and began to walk towards the door, but she felt him stand up a moment later and then she felt his hand grab her by the wrist and turn her around. She was facing him once again, looking down at him. He reached up and pressed his lips lightly against hers, taking her by complete surprise. Not even a powerful psychic like Raven could have predicted that happening. Garfield attempted to deepen the kiss, but she broke away.

He stared at her with hurt eyes, but she shook her head. He did not understand. She needed to get some sleep before her training to fight Trigon, and if something happened between them now it would consume her mind and keep her awake all night long. Already she ran that risk. She turned and exited the room without another word to him, unaware of the dejected look on his face and his crestfallen heart. She assumed he would understand why she could not do all of the things they both wanted right now; but she was wrong.

Garfield sighed sadly and turned back to his room, plopping down on the bed with a soft sigh escaping his lips. He was confused. He did not understand why she claimed to love him, but then ran so quickly when he tried to kiss her. Perhaps she did not love him? No, he could feel the warmth on her lips in the brief instant that they had connected. Then what explanation could there be? Garfield never would have guessed the truth. He sighed once again and closed his eyes, feeling like the weight of the world was pressing down on his stomach.

Garfield was so wrapped up in the questions plaguing his mind after the encounter with Raven that he did not notice the soft sound of the window on the wall of his room opening. He did not hear the sound of rain from outside as it pelted against the floor, and he certainly did not hear the sound of someone crawling into his room.

Then Garfield felt something cold press against his throat. He opened his eyes and saw a tall, pale man with dark hair and a goatee holding a knife against his throat, and pressing a finger against his own lips making the universal symbol for silence. Garfield froze. Two other men were in the room, as well, and Gar never heard them enter. His first instinct was to scream, or to fight, but he knew that either of those choices would result in his death.

Then Gar felt something prick his arm and he looked over in time to see one of the other two men injecting him with something from a needle. A split-second later his vision blurred and he got a horrible headache that split and pounded. Garfield passed out after that, and the men hurried his unconscious body out the window, successful in their mission to Trigon the Terrible.

**

* * *

**

Raven was back in main part of the church where worships take place. She sat on an old wooden bench, near Cyborg and Kori, watching the sparring match between Nightwing and Slade continue. So far, Nightwing and Slade were both displaying their skills as they beat each other with bo-staffs and fists and kicks. Raven was impressed at how powerful Robin had become, he was much better than she remembered him, and that was saying a lot considering ten years ago he had been one of the most skilled fighters she had ever met.

Slade was Slade. For every punch Nightwing threw, Slade could block, dodge or counter it. For every kick, Slade was able to avoid it or catch it. For every swing of his bo-staff, Slade was able to block Nightwing's attack with his own staff. Slade, even aged ten years, was still a force to be reckoned with. Raven did not know if that was very good or not, considering Slade was Slade. He claimed to be on their side, and Arella trusted him; but Arella had been known for making mistakes in the past, hadn't she? She had given herself to Trigon as a bride. That was certainly a mistake.

"So who's winning?" Raven asked.

"Nobody. They're both too good at blocking and dodging." Cyborg replied. "Nobody can get a hit in."

At that moment, Slade smacked Nightwing down on the ground hard with his bo-staff, causing a river of blood to begin flowing from Nightwing's nose.

"Err . . . never mind." Cyborg sweatdropped.

"Slade is a cheater." Kori insisted.

"Really? I never would have guessed." Raven's sarcastic reply was typical.

"Where's BB?" Cyborg asked Raven.

"Still in his room." Raven replied, trying not to notice the small blush that threatened to overtake her pale cheeks.

"You two were in there all alone for quite some time." Cyborg grinned teasingly. "Anything you want to talk about?"

"No." Raven replied flatly.

"Did he put the moves on you Rae?" Cyborg asked, also taking a blunt tone.

"Cyborg, drop it." Raven snapped, but the redness in her cheeks was a dead giveaway, and Cyborg laughed. Kori smiled at Raven.

"I'm happy for you two." Kori said.

"Nothing happened." Raven still denied it, though mostly out of habit.

"C'mon, be real." Cyborg insisted. "We can see it in your face."

Raven turned her face away from him, but when she looked the other direction she found herself staring at Kori, who was even worse than Cyborg with her big green eyes, so Raven finally had to turn and watch the sparring match.

Then the front door of the church opened, and Nightwing and Slade both paused and turned. The three sitting on the bench got up and looked, and Arella appeared from out of a back room and glanced towards the door as well. A tall man with pale skin and dark hair walked in the room. He had a goatee and a sinister smile on his face.

"Greetings." He called to the group. In an instantly he found Slade on one side of him and Nightwing standing on the other side, both looked ready to attack. Nightwing and Slade both held up their bo-staves in a defensive position, Cyborg aimed his arm cannon, and Kori's hands turned green with starbolts forming.

"I'd be careful." The goatee man said. "If you kill me, your friend will die as well."

The group collectively froze. Arella walked forward.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Havoc. Steven Havoc. I am the leader of a cult that worships Trigon the Terrible, and I come on his behalf." The goatee man replied. "I bring a message for Raven." Havoc looked directly at Raven as he made this declaration.

"We're not interested." Raven responded bitterly. Slade and Nightwing both advanced on Havoc, but he did not budge. Instead, his smile only grew and he said something that froze Raven down to her bones.

"You either listen to what I have to say, or the green one will die."

Nightwing and Slade both paused and Raven, who had turned to leave the room, spun back around in horror as she realized that Garfield was missing from the scene. Havoc was smiling in a sick way, and Raven walked up to him.

"What did you do?"

"I kidnapped him not long ago. He is being held at a location near here. If you cooperate with me, he shall be unharmed. If not, my associates will deliver him to you in separate boxes." Havoc informed her with glee in his demented voice. Raven's eyes flashed back and Havoc was thrown into the wall of the church. He grunted in pain and fell onto his knees, but was suddenly lifted off the ground by Raven's powers.

"Bring him back here." Raven demanded.

"No." Havoc replied.

"I'll kill you." Raven threatened him. She felt horrible. Garfield was already in danger because of her, just as she had known he would be. This was all because of her stupid mistake.

"If I die, so does he." Havoc grinned.

"Raven, enough!" Nightwing called. "We'll find Gar."

"No you won't." Havoc smiled. Raven released Havoc, but since she had been lifting him in the air, he fell a long ways. He hit the ground and landed on one foot, causing his leg to snap back painfully and break. Havoc screamed in pain and grabbed his injured leg. Raven showed no mercy. She used her powers to take hold of his injured leg and lift it in the air, then drop it on the ground. Havoc began to cry, but Raven only repeated the process.

"Raven, stop!" Nightwing shouted again.

"Let her go." Slade called to Nightwing. "She's getting results."

"Fine, I'll tell you!" Havoc cried out in pain. Tears fell from his face, but Raven took no pity on him at all and she continued to beat his broken leg into the ground with her powers. She did not let up at all, anger was taking control and ration was thrown aside and trampled on. Slade was smiling at her fury, but the others were horrified.

"We have him stashed at a warehouse near the bay!" Havoc screamed. "Stop! Please stop hurting me!"

Raven smashed his leg one final time, and then she stepped over the weeping man and towards the door. Slade cut her off.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked in a mocking tone.

"Don't screw with me right now." Raven warned him.

"Raven." Arella's voice was gentle, but firm at the same time. "If you step foot outside of this church, Trigon will be able to use you to open the portal."

Raven sighed and stopped at the doorway. She shut her eyes and her body shook a bit. She did not know what to do. If she did not go, Garfield would die. If she did, Trigon would win. Either way she was in pain, and either way she knew the fate of everyone was her fault. She had caused this. Things would have been better for everyone involved if she just stayed in her coma.

"Wilson, go rescue Garfield." Arella ordered. Slade narrowed his eye at her, and for a moment, he did not move from his spot. At length, however, he did reach down and pick up Havoc by the shirt collar.

"You will take me to the warehouse." Slade informed him.

"N-no. They'll kill me." Havoc whined.

"My dear man, **I** will kill you." Slade replied. "The girl was just angry, I'm downright evil. Let me show you what I mean."

Slade whipped a small knife from his belt and stabbed it into Havoc's injured leg. Havoc screamed out in pain, but Slade only twisted the knife around causing his blood to spatter out onto Slade's hand. Havoc screamed again and began to choke on his sobs.

"Fine! I'll take you! I'll take you!" He screamed in between heaving sobs.

"Good." Slade dropped Havoc on the ground. "You can carry him, Robin." He announced.

Nightwing narrowed his eyes, however he said nothing. He and Cyborg stepped forward and Cyborg picked Havoc up. Nightwing and Cyborg then began to follow Slade, no words needed. Nightwing hated the idea of following Slade's lead, but this was to save their friend, so for now he did not have a choice. Every second they wasted arguing was a second Garfield could be killed during, so for now he would have to put aside his regrets of working with a man who had made his teenage years hell.

Kori started to follow them, but Nightwing turned around and stopped her. "Stay with Raven and Arella." He told her.

"I want to go with you." Kori replied.

"They need you here. Arella can't fight if something else comes, and Raven's too emotionally stressed." Nightwing informed her.

Kori sighed and bit her lip. She knew he was right, as he often was. She sighed and gave him a small hug, and then she walked over to where Arella was trying to calm Raven. Raven ignored her mother's words and paced around, angry that she was confined to this building while someone she cared for was in danger because of her.

As Slade, Nightwing and Cyborg hurried off into the night, following Havoc's directions, none of them were aware that they had done exactly as Trigon had hoped they would.

**

* * *

**

Garfield opened his eyes. He looked around and found himself sitting in the corner of a darkened building, some sort of warehouse. Outside he heard the cries of gulls and he realized he must be near the harbor. He always recognized different animal noises, for the obvious reason. Garfield looked around the building he was in. Aside from piles of crates and an old conveyer belt, it was completely empty of anyone. His ankles and wrists were bound with irons, and he knew he was in trouble.

He was not worrying about himself, however, but Raven. She was on his mind, flooding him with concerns. Was she okay? Had these guys gotten to her and the others? Would she be safe? Would they use kidnapping him as a way to hurt her? He could not figure it out, though. He and Raven had only just expressed their feelings for each other, and already it had been used against them.

"I can read her mind, you know. That is how I knew to kidnap you."

Garfield looked up and found three men. Two wore white robes and had dark hair; they had been Havoc's followers and had gone with him when they kidnapped Garfield. The third wore a black robe and his hair was so long it fell down around his waist. The man in the black robe had eyes that sparkled with a harsh yellow light.

"Who're you?" Garfield demanded.

"I go by many names." The black robbed man scoffed. "To you and your world, I am called Trigon."

Garfield blinked. "Dude, like, **THE** Trigon? I kinda imagined you'd be a bit scarier looking."

The black robbed man laughed. "I cannot manifest myself in your world, yet, so I have possessed the body of one of my cultists." Trigon explained. His smile was deadly, and Garfield felt like his eyes were digging right into him.

Trigon, in his human body, walked closer to Garfield and bent down so they were on eye level. Gar could see the yellow of Trigon's eyes behind the human's pale blue ones, and he knew the demon was really there and that this was not just a bad joke. Garfield felt his body tense up, and Trigon seemed enticed by his fear.

"I am curious of something, mortal." Trigon announced. "Why is it that my daughter has taken to liking you?"

Garfield blinked. "Huh?"

"What is your appeal to her? I cannot understand it. Of all of her friends, you seem the most unlike her. You are the most idiotic and pointless of the group. I don't see how you can possibly hold any appeal at all." It was hard to tell if Trigon said these things because he was genuinely curious, or if he was just trying to be cruel. Either way, Garfield was angry.

"Dude, I'm curious of something too. Why are you so freakin' insane?" Garfield asked him.

"Amusing." Trigon laughed. "I wish we had longer to talk, small green one, but my hour approaches."

"Dude, if you think Raven's gonna help you come to Earth, you're nuts." Garfield spat at him. Trigon laughed.

"Foolish human. Even as we speak, your friends are coming here to rescue you. What they do not realize is that it is a trap. They will arrive, and they, and you, will perish here. In the meanwhile, a very trusted servant will be paying a visit to the church, where Raven will come out past the seal and I will be able to manifest myself in this world." Trigon informed him of his plans.

"Dude, Rae won't ever leave that church, not for any minion of yours."

Garfield felt his spine go cold when Trigon turned to face him again. The dark demon was smiling in a way that made Garfield sick to his stomach.

"It will not be a minion she sees. It will be a friend." Trigon smirked. A moment later, a third man in a white robe ran up.

"Milord, they are here!" He called out. Trigon's grin only grew in width.

"Excellent!" Trigon growled. Suddenly Garfield felt blind, as every light in the warehouse instantly went out. A moment later, his acute hearing noticed footsteps, and hushed voices.

"Where is he?" Cyborg demanded.

"Somewhere in here." Havoc replied between dry sobs.

"Be on guard." Slade warned the group. The four of them were making their way through the warehouse. Cyborg led the way, Havoc in his arms, with Slade on his right side and Nightwing on his left. Everyone was looking around in every direction, and Cyborg was checking his scanners, but the result was strange.

"Yo, I can't get a read on any lifeforms here. My systems can't even detect us!" Cyborg exclaimed as he noticed his arm scanner.

"It's a spell." Slade informed him. "It hides all life reading inside this building. No way to know where anyone is. Trigon's smart."

Garfield had heard enough. He could see the light of Cyborg's flashlight shoulder coming around the corner. He could also see Trigon and his three human minions waiting ready to strike in the shadow. He decided to warn his friends.

"IT'S A TRAP DUDES!" Garfield shouted. His friends were only just in view when he yelled this, and they suddenly froze. Trigon cursed, and his three human minions leapt out of the shadows armed with knives. One of them charged forward at the group, but Slade jumped and knocked the man down with a swing of his bo-staff. The second man also ran at them, but Nightwing tossed an explosive disc at the ceiling, it blew up on a rafter and knocked the beam down where it landed on the man.

The third man paused and turned to run, but Cyborg fired a blast of his arm-cannon and it hit the man, knocking him to the ground unconscious. That is when Trigon stepped out of the shadows, clapping slowly and tauntingly.

"Excellent work." Trigon commended them.

"Who are you?" Cyborg aimed his cannon.

"Milord! I am sorry I led them here!" Havoc screamed.

"It does not matter. You did as I hoped you would, Havoc." Trigon announced. "You have led most of the strong fighters away from the church. My daughter is defenseless now."

Slade's eye widened as he realized whom the man in the black robe was. "Trigon."

"Ah, Slade." Trigon grinned sadistically. "First you fail in your duty to me, then you take up with Arella of all people. You shall suffer for your betrayal."

"You're the one who stabbed me in the back." Slade spat.

"Oh please, Wilson. You're painfully obvious. As far as humans go, you are exceptionally evil and cruel, and highly intelligent; but you're still no comparison to me." Trigon informed him.

"You're looking pretty human yourself." Slade replied.

"This body? Only temporary. As a matter of fact, my agent should be arriving at the church at any moment." Trigon's evil smile grew, and Nightwing sprang into action. He charged at Trigon holding his bo-staff, but a wall of flames jumped up out of the ground and blocked Nightwing's path.

"Being in a human body only limits my powers; I still have them." Trigon informed Nightwing as a circle of fire spread around him and Garfield, keeping them separate from the rest of the group.

"Damn it." Nightwing punched the ground.

"Tell me, how does it feel being here, and knowing that the woman you love is back at that church about to die?" Trigon asked.

"Shut up!" Garfield and Nightwing both yelled at once, since neither of them could tell whom he was talking too. Surprisingly, however, Trigon's eyes had not been on either one of them. He had been looking at Slade. Slade, however, did not give Trigon the pleasure of an emotional reaction. Instead, the assassin spoke in a calm, cold voice.

"Believe me, Trigon, one thing I've learned about the Titans is not to underestimate them; and seeing as how they're on my side now, that's even more for _you_ to fear."

Trigon scoffed. "We shall see."

**

* * *

**

Raven sat on one of the benches inside the church, looking out the window as rain spattered against the cold, stained glass. She heaved a sigh. She felt so helpless, like a child. All of this was her fault. She had created this mess, and she could not aid in the clean up process. She wanted too, God knows she wanted too. She wanted to go find Garfield and tell him she was sorry he had been targeted because of her. That would not happen, however.

"Raven, you must not be afraid." Kori suddenly spoke up. The redhead was sitting right next to her and had put her arm around her friend in a reassuring gesture, but Raven shook her head.

"This is all my fault." Raven said quietly.

"No, it is mine." Arella announced. Raven and Kori both looked over at Arella, who stood leaning against the Preacher's Stand. Arella's face looked tired and worn out. "All of this began with me. However, I have no regrets, and you must not either."

"How can you have no regrets?" Raven demanded, pushing Kori's arm off her shoulder, standing up and turning to face her mother. "How can you possibly have no regrets?"

"My only mistake was getting mixed up with that cult." Arella whispered. "Had I not done so, Trigon would have found another bride regardless, and I would have missed out on ever having you as a daughter."

Raven shook her head dismissively. However, before she could say anything, they heard a groan from outside. All three ran to the doors and Kori wretched them open.

Outside, lying in the street was Garfield. He was battered, beaten, bruised and bleeding. Thick crimson blood ran off his wounds in the rain. Raven's eyes widened as she saw him lying there in the street, dying.

"Help . . . me . . . Rae . . ." He panted.

Raven ran out of the church towards him. Both Kori and Arella screamed out "No!" and tried to grab her, but they were too slow. Raven had already made it down the steps and past the protective seal of Azarath. The second her foot went outside the seal's protective rang, Raven screamed and fell to her knees.

It felt like someone had just rain nails across her body. She could feel white-hot pain as red runes appeared on her skin. Her eyes turned black and Raven hugged herself, trying to rid herself of the pain. A few feet away, Garfield's injured form transformed into a small green shape-shifting demon, which laughed and then scampered away into the night, pleased with his work.

Raven's scream grew louder and she threw her head back and arched her back. Black light shot forth from her mouth and it flew into the clouds, splitting the sky open. Red light poured forth onto the earth, illuminating everything with a harsh crimson glow.

"God forgive me." Arella whispered. "I failed."

Kori was speechless. The world around them was transforming, changing into something horrible. People's screams could be heard from every direction. The sky became red, the clouds turned black, and everyone Kori could see was transforming into stone statues.

Back at the warehouse in the bay, the bay waters turned as red as blood and the flames that had separated Trigon and Garfield from the others vanished. As soon as the flames were gone, Nightwing jumped forward and grabbed the black robbed man by the collar, slamming him into a stacked crate.

"Trigon, what's going on?" Nightwing demanded.

"Who is Trigon?" The man in the black robe asked. "Who are you?"

"Don't play games with me!" Nightwing spat.

"He isn't." Slade spoke in a hushed voice. "Look!"

Nightwing turned around and looked up, and his mouth fell open. Garfield and Cyborg were equally horror-stricken and did not move. A second later, the roof of the warehouse was ripped right up, and the group found themselves staring up at Trigon the Terrible – the true Trigon the Terrible.

"Daddy's little girl made me proud tonight." Trigon announced. "All thanks to you, falling into such an obvious trap."

"Damn it." Slade cursed.

"That . . . isn't good." Cyborg stared, his mouth agape.

"We're screwed." Havoc was crying once again.

"Well, I'm off to visit Arella and Raven; I know they're both **dying** to see me." Trigon grinned sadistically. "I'll be sure to say you said hello."

Garfield growled like a animal, and for some reason Slade shook with rage when Trigon announced this. However, none of them got a chance to see this because at that moment, Trigon released his grasp on the roof, and it fell back onto the warehouse with a thud. The walls smashed in and the entire building collapsed around the Titans. Then, as if to seal the deal, Trigon slammed his fist down on the end of the dock that the warehouse sat on and it fell into the bay of red water, sinking down into the dark depths, and taking the Titans with it.

Trigon watched it sink, and then he turned and set off towards the church.

**

* * *

**

**A/N**: There you have it, another chapter, another cliffhanger!

As I said, someone told me review replies violated a rule of FFN. I'm not sure if that is true or not, but I'm NOT taking a chance of having this story removed, so I'm no longer doing review replies. However, to everyone who did review: I thank you for reading, and please, continue reading and reviewing.

And if anyone wants to talk to me, about whatever, you can email me at or IM me on AIM.

Thanks for reading, more coming soon!


	10. The Night I Called The Old Man Out

**Ten Years Later**

**By**

**Brandon "GoldenSama" Rice**

**Chapter Ten **

"The Night I Called The Old Man Out"

**A/N: **I apologize for the delay. Between my new job, and my computer being infested with spyware, I've had little time for writing lately. However, I am back, and it's time to end on a high note. Please enjoy the surprise-filled, twisted-and-turning, action-packed, romantic, very shocking **final** chapter of Ten Years Later.

**

* * *

**

"Quickly, get her into the church!" Arella called to Kori. Kori nodded and scooped Raven up in her arms, then she turned and ran back towards the church steps where Arella stood, but at that moment Nightwing's voice reached her ears and she stopped dead in her tracks, feeling as if someone had just poured a bucket of icy water down her shirt.

She spun around to see an injured Nightwing. His clothes were ripped on the chest and bloody scars caught Kori's eyes in a flash. His mask was half off his face, and his hair was covered in deep crimson stains. He crawled on the ground, unable to stand or walk.

"Kori . . . help." He choked out. Kori's green eyes widened and she felt herself grow numb. Seeing him like this was enough to cause her emotions to go out of whack, and she started going forward towards him, still carrying the unconscious Raven in her arms; until Arella's voice sounded.

"Remember the last!"

Kori stopped; confused at first, but then she realized what Arella must mean. She meant before, when they had seen Beast Boy lying ill on the street, and it had been a trap. Was this version of Nightwing nothing more than a trick? Kori felt a fierce Tamaranian anger surge up in her stomach and she shifted Raven so that she held the other woman with only one arm. She raised the other hand and a green bolt of light started forming inside the palm of her fist. Nightwing's eyes opened wide.

"Kori . . . please . . . it's not a trick. We were at the dock . . . Trigon attacked us and knocked us in the water, I swear . . . please don't kill me . . ." Nightwing begged.

Kori scoffed. "Nightwing has never begged for his life, not once." She informed him, and then she fired the starbolt right into Nightwing's face, which caused his head to explode. The decapitated corpse of Dick Grayson suddenly transformed into the same small demon that had impersonated Beast Boy moments earlier. Kori turned away from the dead imp and walked up the steps, joining Arella on the Holy Church ground.

"Will Raven be alright?" Kori asked as she approached her friend's mother, still carrying Raven in her arms. She had shifted Raven's body again, so that the unconscious girl was lying spread across both of her arms. One of Kori's arms hooked under Raven's knees, the other just behind her head. Arella looked down at her daughter and shook her head.

"She is fine, physically, but it has drained her to bring Trigon here. She is weak, and needs time to rest; and he will be coming for her." Arella explained.

"Why?" Kori asked, confused. "She already brought him here, why would he even care anymore?"

"Because she is his daughter." Arella replied simply. "She is the only one capable of defeating Trigon. She is what gave him power, and she can take it away again. She can destroy him once and for all, so he wants to kill her. We have to protect her until she can defeat him."

At that moment, as Arella spoke, the ground shook. The two women turned to see a large black shadow looming in the distance, coming from the direction of the bay. As the shadow drew closer, and the shaking became worse, and the thunderous footsteps became louder; Arella's eyes widened and she shook her head. Kori understood that this must be Trigon.

"Arella, take Raven inside." Kori demanded, placing the unconscious girl in her mother's arms.

"You cannot fight him." Arella told her at once.

"I have to try." Kori responded, not caring or even thinking about the danger. She gave Arella a gentle push, and the older woman sighed and carried her daughter into the relative safety of the church. Kori floated up into the air, her hands glowing with a fierce green light illuminating the night as she rose higher and higher. Trigon finally arrived, and she could see his red leather-like skin and his four evil eyes bearing down at her.

"Hello little Tamaranian." Trigon greeted her. "I suppose you hope to block my path, do you?"

"I will fight you." Kori replied with a voice burning with determination.

"Amusing." Trigon scoffed. "However, I have plenty of time on my hands. I will play your game."

Kori darted forward, hurling starbolts at the intergalactic demon in front of her with a furious rage. She watched them connect with Trigon's face and soon the demon's head was engulfed in smoke as she threw hundreds of tiny green bolts at his face. After a solid minute and a half of attack, Kori stopped, breathing heavily. The smoke cleared, and Trigon blinked a few times.

"That's all?" He sneered at her.

Kori let out a grunt of anger and shot forward like a bullet. She smacked Trigon in the face with both fists, and because of her superhuman strength, he was thrown backwards and he fell into a building across the street from the church. Kori watched him fall, and as his body went crushing down onto the steel building, she threw a flurry of starbolts at him, adding to the attack.

However, when the smoke had cleared, Trigon reached up and grabbed hold of another nearby building and pulled himself back to his feet with a laugh in his eyes.

"That's strike two." Trigon informed her with his mocking tone. "You're just as pathetic as the others that I've killed."

Kori felt her body tense up at the idea of the other Titans being dead. Her entire petite form shook with rage and she closed her eyes, trying to block out the tears. Trigon observed this, and once again, he laughed in his great mocking tone.

"You mortals will cry over anything, won't you?" Trigon laughed, his gigantic mouth open wide with laughter. Kori opened her eyes and bright green lasers fired from her corneas straight into Trigon's open mouth. There was an explosion in his throat, and the demon stumbled backwards, stepping on a car as he clutched his throat and coughed, gasping for breath.

"I will make you cry for what you did to my friends!" Kori screamed at him, tears leaking down her face as she shook from a combination of sadness and determination. If the others truly were dead, she had no choice but to destroy him. She did not care if Arella claimed only Raven could accomplish that deed. He had killed Nightwing. He had killed Cyborg, and Garfield and he had to pay for all the lives he had taken and the hearts he had broken! He had to be stopped now, before his evil could spread.

Trigon drew himself back up to full height, and his eyes were blazing with anger now. The demon spit out a huge glob of blood and mucus from his throat, and he glared at Kori Anders with intensive fury burning bright in his face. He roared like a lion and then he swiped one of his massive hands at her. Kori used her greater speed to fly out of the way of the hand, but he fired his eye lasers at her and she had to swerve away from the yellow beams; as she did so he swiped his other hand, and this time she could not avoid it. Kori felt his massive bony hand smash into her side and she was swatted out of the sky like a fly being knocked down by a flyswatter. She flew into the hard concrete of the street and she felt her body fill with pain. Her eyes flooded with tears and blood swirled around her vision as it poured down her face from a cut on her head. She looked up, and between the hazy world of tears and blood, she saw Trigon lift one of his feet high up into the air. Kori braced herself for the fatal blow she knew was coming.

However, it never connected.

Kori shakily wiped away the blood and tears and she saw a strange green animal attacking Trigon, smashing his other foot with a tail that had four long spikes coming out of it. The dinosaur had fins on its back and a strange head; it was a stegosaur, and more importantly, it was Beast Boy, she knew. He was alive!

"Damn you!" Trigon screamed as the four long nails split into his foot. The stegosaur that was Garfield Logan let out a huff and raised his tail for a second attack, but Trigon swerved the foot he had planned on killing Kori with around and kicked Garfield, sending him flying into a parked car. He reverted into his normal self and shook his head as he winced in pain.

A sonic cannon blast collided with Trigon's horned head, and the demon rounded on Cyborg. The half-man, half-machine stood. He looked a little worse for the ware, but he was fine. He fired a second shot, this one hit Trigon in his eye. Kori watched as the demon screamed and waved his arms in the air as he blinked all four of his eyes in pain. A moment later, a bomb hit Trigon in both of his feet. The first bomb covered his right foot in ice, keeping him rooted to the spot; while the second exploded on his left foot and burnt it with fire.

Kori willed herself to sit up, and she saw Nightwing and Slade standing side by side. They were soaking wet, and both bleeding and bruised; but both of them wore determined looked in their eyes. Kori felt her heart sore when she saw Nightwing alive, and she made up her mind then and there to forgive him for everything and to do whatever it took to make things the way they were before that fateful day ten years ago.

"You humans are like roaches that refuse to die!" Trigon screamed at then.

"I've actually heard that before." Slade mocked, delighted at the pain they were causing the demon.

"_I've_ actually called you that before." Nightwing pointed out with a grin. It seemed strange to see archenemies working hand-in-hand for a single goal, but that was exactly what Slade and Nightwing were doing.

Trigon was not amused by the witty banter. His arm began to blaze red, and flames sprouted from his skin. He threw a gigantic fireball at the two, and both of them jumped in different directions. The fireball hit the ground and exploded in a gigantic crater. Nightwing rolled away from the flames and wound up landing very close to Kori, who used all of her, will to pull herself out of the hole in the ground and fly to his side.

"Are you alright?" She asked him.

"Just like old times." He replied with a wily grin. He looked at her once over and noticed all of the injuries Trigon had inflicted. "Why don't you go see if Gar's alright; leave big red to me and Slade."

Kori nodded. "Be careful."

Nightwing did something that surprised her. He leaned in and quickly kissed her softly on the cheek, which caused her eyes to widen in shock. Then he stood up and extended his bo-staff. "I'll be fine." He called to her, and then he charged forward at Trigon again. He whipped out a small yellow disc as he jumped over the asphalted road and hurled it at the demon. The disc exploded with great yellow flames and Trigon roared in pain and started shooting his eye lasers at Nightwing, who dodged them all.

Meanwhile, on the steps of the church, Slade had found his way over to Arella and the unconscious Raven. All of Trigon's jumping around, from his size and weight, had shaken the ground and caused Arella to fall on the steps and twist her ankle. She was now sitting on the steps next to her daughter's body as Slade appeared.

"Wake her up, woman!" Slade yelled at Arella and pointed at Raven.

"She is not ready!" Arella yelled back. "She cannot defeat him now!"

"She does _not_ have a choice; this is it Arella, this is the final battle! This is when all the fate of mankind is decided, and your daughter is the only thing that can make sure Trigon loses, SO **WAKE HER ASS UP**!" Slade had no compassion in his voice, only a rage as cold as ice.

Arella glared at him with fiery anger in her eyes, but she turned to her daughter and placed her hands on Raven's forehead. A white light began to surround Raven and Arella and it illuminated the bleak night sky. Trigon seemed to spot this light, because a moment later he turned around and bellowed at them in his thunderous voice.

"I think not, Arella." Trigon scoffed, and he lifted one of his feet high in the air. Slade jumped forward and threw an explosive disc at Trigon's foot, it exploded and Trigon's leg was engulfed in flames. Slade ran away from the steps of the church where Arella and Raven sat, and he continued to hurl explosive discs at Trigon.

"You irritate me, Wilson!" Trigon screamed at Slade with hatred in his voice.

"You're just mad because I'm sleeping with your wife." Slade shot back, and Trigon laughed in amusement. Of course, Slade's devious criminal mind had counted on that reaction, and while Trigon was busy laughing at Slade's preposterous accusation, Slade jumped forward and threw another explosive disc. This one flew straight at Trigon's face, and right into the lowest eye on the left side.

There was a huge explosion, and Trigon's eye blew out. Trigon screamed in genuine pain as blood rained down from the sky as it flew from out of the empty eye socket. Trigon glared down at Slade with his three remaining eyes and he shook with fury.

"Losin' an eye's bitch, huh?" Slade laughed, knowing the answer from personal experience.

"Indeed." Trigon growled, his voice sounding darker and meaner than ever before. "But this, I assure you, is worse."

Before Slade could react, Trigon's foot smashed down atop of him and crushed him flat to the ground. The great demon stomped on Slade so hard the asphalt around the impact area cracked and shattered. Arella looked up from Raven in time to see Trigon lift his foot off Slade's smashed and shattered body, and she shook her head and a single tear fell. Slade was crushed like a bug that had been run over by a car.

Slade had taken Trigon's eye, and Trigon had taken Slade's life.

Arella closed her eyes, and tears leaked out from beneath the lids. A moment later, she heard a sigh.

"What is it with you and falling for the bad guy?" Raven asked her mother sarcastically, without any real compassion at the moment. Arella opened her eyes and saw her daughter was awake.

"Raven, you must –"

"Fight dad? Yeah, I know." Raven cut her off and lifted up to a sitting position. She sighed, and then she hugged Arella tight. "Mom, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I've always hated you, I'm sorry I blamed you for all of this, and I'm sorry you have no luck when it comes to men."

Raven could sense her mother's immense sadness at Slade's death, and she did truly regret it happening for Arella's sake. Raven let go of her mother and turned. She saw that the scene on the street was getting worse. Nightwing, Kori and Cyborg were huddled together near a parked car, and Trigon was advancing towards them with glee in his face.

"I killed one of you, now for the rest." Trigon breathed.

"I may not have seen eye to eye with him on most things, but Slade did have a good idea." Nightwing grinned. He had already whispered his plan to Kori and Cyborg; neither of them liked it, but they knew better than to second-guess Nightwing. He was, after all, their leader. The Titans had regrouped, and Nightwing had the same job now he had had back ten years ago.

Nightwing ran forward and tossed an explosive disc at Trigon's foot, and Trigon laughed. However, as He aimed his focus on Nightwing, Kori put her hands together and fired a gigantic starbolt, and Cyborg shot off a round from his sonic cannon. Kori's starbolt hit Trigon's top left eye, and Cyborg's cannon hit the bottom right equivalent. Trigon screamed as two more of his eyes exploded and he lost three-fourths of his vision. Nightwing grinned and jumped up, aiming an explosive disc at Trigon's final eye.

Trigon fired a laser from that eye at Nightwing's hand before he could release the disc. The disc exploded in Nightwing's right hand, and the hero-formerly-known-as-Robin screamed in pain as it detonated prematurely.

Kori screamed and flew to catch him. Nightwing landed in her arms, as one of his own arms fell a few feet away on the pavement. Kori, horrifically, realized that his arm had been blown clear off his body. Nightwing screamed, pain overtaking him in a way he had never even thought possible. Trigon laughed.

Cyborg aimed his cannon again, but Trigon was too quick. He fired another eye-beam laser and it hit Cyborg in his chest. Cyborg grunted as a hole was burnt right through his chest, and then he fell backwards without another sound or movement, joining Slade in death.

"Kill us if you want too, you're still going to fail." Nightwing screamed up at Trigon.

"Well, you were right about the killing you part anyway." Trigon taunted him like an angry child.

Trigon's arm blazed to life with flames, and he threw a gigantic fireball at Kori and Nightwing. Kori squeezed him tight in her arms and closed her eyes, but a moment later, an angry female voice filled the sky.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

Kori opened her eyes and saw the ball of flames had been stopped in mid-air, surrounded by a white aura. Trigon's single eye widened and he whipped around to see Raven flying in the air. She was shaking with fury, and white light surrounded her body. Trigon froze on the spot as he saw his daughter shimmering with white light.

"Raven, you are awake. It does not matter, you will not survive for lo—ARGH!"

Raven waved one of her hands and the fireball surrounded by white light turned and hit Trigon in the side of his head. The flames meant to kill Nightwing and Kori exploded and covered Trigon's face, engulfing his silver mane in the flames and causing his skin to blister and boil in the burning, sweltering heat.

"I'm not in the mood for evil monologues today, daddy." Raven told him flat out. She pressed her hands together and fired a beam of white light from her fists that flew straight through Trigon's left knee like a warm knife passing through butter. Blood squirted out, and Trigon screamed too. His weight was too much, and his knees buckles and he fell onto his them. Blood poured out of his wounded knee and pooled up on the ground.

"You ungrateful bitch! I will tear the flesh off your bones for that!" Trigon screamed. Raven fired a second white beam, this one severed one of the horns off Trigon's head and it smashed into the ground with a loud thud.

"Yeah, yeah, flesh-peeling demon wrath. Don't you ever spew any new nonsense, I've heard all of this before." Raven mocked him, every bit as sardonic as he father. Trigon shook with rage, but a moment later, he calmed down and did something that truly terrified Raven; he smiled.

"It's time we settle this. You may be my daughter, but you're also human." Trigon scoffed. "Goodbye, Raven."

Trigon opened his mouth and flames jumped out of his throat and flew at Raven. She threw up her arms and created a shield of white light that caught the flames, but Trigon did not lighten up. He continued to spew bright hot fire at her, and she shook from head to toe as she tried to contain it all inside her white aura. Arella watched with panic in her eyes, unsure if her daughter could contain Trigon's grizzly wrath forever.

Meanwhile, down on the street, Garfield had just awoken. He looked around at the crumpled body of Slade, the fallen form of Cyborg, and the injured Nightwing. He saw the sadness in Kori's eyes, and the struggle in Arella's face. He then looked up and saw Raven, the girl who had stolen his heart years ago, fighting not only for her own life, but also for the lives of everyone on the planet. Garfield knew he had to help her somehow, but he did not know how.

_Think Gar! This is Rae we're talking about, you've gotta help her!_ He looked around, and he saw Trigon. He noticed the way the demon was down on his knees as he breathed the bright flames, and Beast Boy wondered if there was a way to exploit his injury.

Then an idea came to him. It was a disgusting idea, and the very thought of it made his nauseous to his stomach. However, he knew it could help Raven, and for her he would do anything, even this. Beast Boy transformed into a tyrannosaurs rex and charged forward. His hip was killing him from his earlier injury, and he squeezed his eyes in pain, but he fought through the bitter sting and continued on forward. He opened his mouth to reveal the long, razor blade like teeth. Trigon was so preoccupied with Raven that he did not even notice Beast Boy charged in between his knees.

Gar closed his eyes, opened his mouth, and bit down hard.

Trigon screamed. His final eye widened in pain and he choked on his own flames and swallowed a mouthful of them. He looked down to see Garfield biting him between the legs and he knocked the dinosaur away with a swing of his massive arm, causing Garfield to fly into a nearby building and hit the wall full speed with his back. Garfield reverted to human and hit the pavement.

"Dude. Need. Mouthwash." He muttered as he spit on the street.

Raven shook as she survived the last of Trigon's flames. Trigon was obviously pissed at Garfield for what he had done, and the demon twisted his body around and glared at the small green man lying on the street. His eye flashed dangerously and Raven knew her father was preparing another laser eye attack; this one meant to kill the man she loved.

"NO!" Raven screamed, and from her chest shot a bolt of white light shaped like a gigantic raven. The white-bird flew with a screech and sailed right through Trigon's neckline. It's white, feathery body cut through his scaly, lizard-like flesh with ease and passed out the other side. Trigon froze on the spot and coughed once, a cloud of mist-like blood spewing from his mouth.

Then his head fell off.

Trigon's head separated from his body and came crashing down on the street in front of him. Then the rest of the demon fell backwards on the street behind him. Raven looked down at the wreckage of her father's body, but she felt no comfort in his death. She could see Cyborg and Slade dead, she saw Nightwing, Kori and Garfield injured, and she saw her mother heartbroken and afraid.

Then Raven felt something strange. Her body began to shake violently, and she blacked out.

**

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**

All she could hear at first was the soft humming of machinery nearby. She could not quite place the sounds, but they were all familiar. A low, mechanical buzz that continued on at the same steady pace. There was also a beeping; it seemed to be accelerating in frequency and growing in pitch. It sounded almost like an EKG heart monitor, like the kind found in hospitals.

_What is a heart monitor doing in my room?_

Raven opened her eyes, but she quickly shut them again. During the brief second they had been open a white light coming from directly above her head blinded her. That was something new. She did not remember installing any overhead lights in her room; only her bedside lamp and the candles she usually burnt that sat on the table beside her bookshelf. Raven opened her eyes once again and blinked several times until they adjusted to the light. Then she gasped.

This was just like what had happened when she first woke up from her coma, but with one big difference. She was not in an unknown hospital bed, this time. She was in a hospital bed, in the hospital wing of Titan's Tower, in Jump City.

"You're awake."

Raven looked over to her right and she gasped again; her eyes as wide as baseballs. The sight she saw seemed impossible, and she blinked her eyes several times to adjust to it.

Robin sat in front of her. Not Nightwing, the bold and brave hero who had lost his arm fighting Trigon; but Robin. The young, spiky-haired youth in the yellow cape who had always been something of a brother to her. She tried to speak, but words came out in broken fragments.

"You. But. How. What. Trigon."

"Relax Raven, it's over." Robin told her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. The fact that she had seen him lose that hand a few minutes ago sent a shiver down her spine.

"Robin, what the hell is going on?" She asked him.

"Arella will explain downstairs." Robin reassured her. "I left a change of clothes at the foot of your bed. I'll see you down in the living room as soon as you're ready. Beast Boy's waiting on you, so hurry up."

Just like that, Robin walked out of the sliding glass door of the infirmary and she watched him vanish. She threw the blanket off her body and she noticed several changes to her physical form. She jumped off the bed and quickly ran to a mirror on the wall. She saw the eighteen-year-old version of Raven staring back at her. She shook her head in amazement. Just a few days ago she had woken up, ten years older than she remembered, and this whole thing had begun. Now she was young again. She turned back to the bed and saw a familiar skin-tight black cat-suit and a blue cape and hood lying on the edge. She smiled and quickly changed, then she headed out the sliding glass door and down into the living room of Titan's Tower.

"Raven!"

The second she stepped into the room she found herself assaulted by Starfire and Beast Boy, who both jumped on her and threw their arms around her. Raven was sent tumbling down onto the carpet as the Tamaranian girl and the shape shifter hugged her. Beast Boy sneaked in a kiss, which didn't surprise her knowing his personality. What did surprise him, though, was that she returned that kiss to him. She kissed him right there on the red carpet of the living room of the tower, in front of all their friends.

"Isn't that sweet?" A cold, condescending voice asked. Raven's eyes opened and she broke away from Beast Boy. Slade was leaning against a wall, Arella standing at his side. Raven felt a cold pain in her stomach at the sight of him alive, but as her eyes settled on her mother beside him, and she saw the relieved happiness in Arella's eyes, Raven decided not to respond to Slade's sarcasm and instead she lifted herself to her feet.

"Okay . . . someone want to explain?" Raven asked.

"Well." Cyborg walked out of the kitchen, holding a ham sandwich. Beast Boy glared at him, but Cyborg ignored the dirty look. "Arella was just explaining it to us, so you might want to ask her."

"It was you who did this Raven." Arella explained to her daughter.

"Me?" Raven asked, confused.

"Yes. You do not yet realize it, but you possess power beyond that of anyone or anything else. When you saw what Trigon was doing, you wished that the world would go back to the simplicity it had been in the time of your teenage years. You wanted all of Trigon's evil to vanish, and you wanted the ten years of life he had taken from you back; and your powers made that come true." Arella explained.

"I don't understand." Raven confessed.

"Remember when you fought me?" Slade asked her. "You didn't want your birthday to come, so your powers paused time. This time, your powers simply hit the rewind button."

Raven sat down in one of the red armchairs. Beast Boy sat on the arm of it, and placed his own skinny green arm around her shoulder. "So you're saying I rewound time? I just erased the last ten years of our lives?"

"When you killed Trigon, you did, yes." Arella confirmed.

" . . . I'm sorry." She said quietly, lowering her head.

"Don't be." Robin shook his head. "Raven, you thought Trigon stole ten years of your life; but he took them from all of us. Sure, Beast Boy lost his fame and fortune, I've lost my long hair, and you undid a few things I wish you hadn't." Robin's eyes suspiciously looked in Slade's direction as he made this comment. "But you've given us all a chance to see what our lives would've been like if the Titans had never split up. You've given us a second chance at happiness . . . and considering the fact I have two arms again and a chance to make up for some mistakes I made, I'm not complaining."

Raven felt a little cheered up by this. She looked around the room. It was amazing to see all her friends the way they had been ten years ago, when this whole thing began.

As Raven sat there, in the chair, with Beast Boy's loving arm around her, she thought about what the future would hold. She knew the world was a different place, and she knew they now could do whatever they felt like. She wondered if Starfire and Robin would wind up together, but she highly doubted there was anything that could keep them apart. She also pondered what their future relationship with Slade would be like. He had that same cold look in his eye, but somehow she wondered if his relationship with Arella wouldn't change him. She worried about her mother and he poor judgment and bad taste in men, but she decided to let those concerns stay unvoiced for now.

She also wondered what her own future held. She loved Beast Boy, and she was no longer afraid to admit that to him or anyone else. Trigon was gone, so she had no reason to worry about him anymore. She did not know how different this future would be from the one she had just been in, but she knew she was eager to find out. She would face it with her fellow Titans at her side, and she would never lose them again, no matter what it held.

Raven smiled and leaned her head against Beast Boy's hand. She was happy, at last.

Trigon was gone, Raven had her life back, and this time she was going to live it to the fullest, come what may. Never again would she deny an emotion, or refuse herself the warm embrace of the man who loved her. Whatever happened to the Titans, she would be there at their side, and they would be in it together.

Of course, this is not truly the conclusion. The Titans troubles were only just beginning. They would face many super villains, evildoers and demented psychopaths again. They would have many adventures and they would have many fights, both with others and each other. The loves they had formed would be tested in many ways, but all of those things are something for another story, at another time.

For now, take comfort in knowing that Raven's great adventure had ended. Her father had fallen, and she had found the love that had been right in front of her face the entire time.

_**The End**_

(For Now.)

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**A/N**: Thank you to EVERYONE who has read and reviewed this story! You've managed to make it a HUGE success, and I love you all for it. Obviously, this is the final chapter. I'm considering a sequel, but I haven't made up my mind yet. Until I do decide whether or not there will be a sequel, you can read **Anything, Anytime, Anywhere For You** and **The Walls Of Jericho**, my other BB/Rae, Rob/Star stories. I promise you'll like them.

Anyway, please leave your final reviews now. I'd love to hear what you thought of the ending. Plus I'd really like to get another fifty-two reviews and hit five hundred. XX I know it's a lot to ask, but I've gotten over fifty-two on three other chapters of this story, so maybe . . .

Ah, well, anyway, it's been a pleasure to write for you all, and I hope you liked this story. Whether I make a sequel or not, there will be more teen titans stories from me in the future, so keep a look out for them!  
**GS, out!**


	11. Epilogue

**Ten Years Later**

**By**

**Brandon "GoldenSama" Rice**

**Epilogue**

**A/N: **OH COME ON! Did you think I'd end the story without a big fluffy epilogue? SHAME ON YOU, IF YOU DID! XD. I was planning this as a surprise, bonus chapter. Plus, it will help set up the sequel – YES, there WILL be a sequel. Its coming soon! Hopefully this – and AFY and WOJ – will hold you over till then.

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Raven sighed, but it was not a sad sigh; it was a sigh of happiness.

Barely a day had passed since Trigon's fall, and now they were readjusting to life, as they had known it ten years ago.

It was not as easy as it seemed. Robin was often seen sulking in front of a mirror, obviously disappointed by his teenage hairstyle and pining to have his long, flowing black mane of Nightwing back.

Beast Boy was shorter, skinnier, and he had lost all of his facial hair. He had tried shaving, just for the heck of it, but wound up cutting his cheek severely with the razor and forcing Raven to heal it with her powers to prevent it from scarring. Beast Boy was also saddened by the fact his bank account had gone from millionaire TV star back to broke superhero teenager. He could not even afford gas for his moped. He also complained that he no longer had a swimming pool shaped like his head, although Raven pointed out, as sarcastically as ever, that that was not a bad thing.

Starfire was the most unchanged by their rewind in time. She had lost her years as a model in New York, but the memories remained. She still had the street-wise savvy she had picked up in the Big Apple, and the naiveté alien princess was gone; although she did go back to wearing the old purple Tamaranian outfit she had worn as a teenager.

Cyborg was Cyborg, just as he had been in the future. He was unaffected by the change in time, and went back to his old duties of tuning up his beloved T-Car and beating Beast Boy in video games in his spare time. Despite the fact that four of their five had spent ten long years as adults, they were back to the teenage ways of yesterday without a second glance. Although, not everything had reverted to the way it had been before Trigon and the ten-year adventure.

The night after Trigon's fall, while the rest of the tower had slept, Raven was awake. She stood on the roof, looking out at the calm bay waters around the Tower and thinking. She had had one hell of an adventure, and she had survived. She had also learned many things about herself, and her friends. The adventure had forced her to confront her feelings for Garfield Logan, the Beast Boy, and she liked what she had found. She knew she loved him, and that would never change. She would now and forever consider him the man she loved, even if he had gone back to being a goofy teenager.

That night, as she stared at the moonlit silvery bay, she felt his presence. She felt him join her out on the roof, and then she felt her mouth twitch into an involuntary smile. She turned around and spotted him, and he smiled his goofy grin at her and walked over to her side, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Hiya Rae."

"Hello Garfield." She replied, comforted by his touch.

"Whatcha doin' out here?"

"Thinking."

"About what?" He asked her.

"I'm thinking about what I'll do now." Raven confessed.

"What do you mean?" He asked, looking up at her pale face as she sparkled in the moonlight. She was absolutely beautiful as the moonlight shined through her hair, and he was overwhelmed with an urge to kiss her. However, he suppressed that urge, more interested in what was on her mind.

"My whole life, ever since I was a child, I've known the day would come that I'd have to fight my dad. Now that day has come, and gone, and for the first time ever I'm free to do whatever I want." She whispered.

"What do you want to do?" Beast Boy asked her.

"I haven't the faintest clue." Raven confessed.

"There's nothing you really want to do?" Beast Boy asked her.

"Not that I can think of, no." Raven replied.

"Nothing?" He asked again, this time hinting with his voice. She rolled her eyes, realizing what he was getting at, and she decided to taunt him.

"Yep. Nothing at all."

"C'mon Rae, that's harsh." He complained.

"What is?" Raven teased, enjoying the way he squirmed with annoyance.

"I'm tryin' to get a kiss here, dude." Beast Boy muttered.

"So?"

"SO? Rae, what happened to all those 'I love you's from the church?" Beast Boy demanded in an irritated voice.

"Just because I love you doesn't mean I'm going to go around kissing you all day." Raven informed him.

"Dude, why not? Give me one good reason why you don't want to kiss me?"

"You had my father's junk in your mouth." Raven reminded him. Instantly, Beast Boy spit on the ground and ran his hands over his tongue, scratching it as if trying to get a bad taste away.

"Must you remind me of that?" He moaned.

Raven flashed a wily grin. "Yes, I think I must."

Beast Boy glared at her and stuck out his tongue. "C'mon. Just a little kiss Rae. Then I'll shut up and leave you alone."

Raven laughed. Beast Boy raised a green eyebrow.

"What's so funny?"

"You'll leave me alone? What kind of warped, parallel universe would _that_ be?" Raven continued to taunt him.

Garfield let out a 'hmph' of annoyance and turned his back on her. "Fine, be that way Rae. I won't beg for your affection."

"Okay." Raven said simply, and she turned and crossed her legs in mid-air and began floating quietly. Beast Boy growled, then he grumbled, then he sighed and hung his head.

"Fine. I'll beg. Rae, pllllllease can I have a kiss? Just one little kiss?" He transformed into a small green kitten with huge eyes, but Raven scoffed.

"What about my personality makes you think I like cats?" She asked him. Beast Boy turned back into himself, this time with a witty comment of his own at the ready.

"Well, you keep this up and you had better learn to like cats." He snapped.

"Why do you say that?" Raven pondered.

"Because Raven if you're this cold when I ask for a kiss, you're going to wind up one of those old a lady who lives alone with like a hundred cats." Beast Boy told her with a grin, and then he stuck out his tongue. Raven was far from being amused, and she smacked him in the back of the head playfully.

"You be careful with those jokes, Ball Boy." Raven warned him. Beast Boy sweatdropped and he shook his head.

"Can't we just call a truce and make out?" He asked her.

"Truce yes, the rest of your request, no." Raven crossed her arms.

"Pfft. You act like all mean and tough, but you don't fool me Rae. I know you love me, and I know you love my kisses, and I know before the night's over you're going to want one, so I can wait." Garfield declared boldly.

Raven flashed him a smile, and then she turned and floated towards the staircase that lead back down to the tower. Beast Boy froze.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"Bed." She replied.

Beast Boy sighed, and then he called after her. "Wait! What about my goodnight kisses?"

"Tough." She called over her shoulder, then she opened the door to the staircase, stepped inside, and closed it behind her; leaving Garfield alone on the roof. He sighed and quickly set off to follow her.

**

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**

Far away from Titans Tower, Arella sat in a small café. She was dressed as if a normal woman would be; she had lost the white cape and Azarathian style clothes. She sipped on a latté and looked out the window at a dark street. The door of the café opened and she heard a bell jingle, and she saw a tall man with a white beard and mustache walk in. Slade approached her table and sat down across from her.

"You wanted to talk to me?" Slade asked.

"Yes I did. It is about our arrangement." Arella said, sitting back in her chair.

"Yes . . . I believe our deal was I would protect Raven until Trigon was killed." Slade replied. "And since Trigon is dead, I don't work for you anymore woman."

Arella glared at him, narrowing her eyes into furious thin slits. Slade crossed him arms. He was serious.

"Arella, I'm a businessman."

"You are an assassin for hire." Arella corrected him.

"Semantics." He rebutted. "The point is, you gave me a job, and I completed it. Now we're even, finished, our partnership is dissolved. So if you want something from me, you'll have to hire me like everyone else."

Arella crossed her arms this time. "I want you to stay away from the Titans."

Slade smirked. "Why would I do that?"

"Well, for one thing, I will kill you if you don't." Arella said sweetly. Slade leaned forward.

"I always did like a gutsy woman." He whispered.

"Stay away from them, Slade. For me?" She whispered back, her voice barely audible.

"Fine. I'll take your request, woman, for now; but don't think hiring me is cheap." Slade warned her in his icy tone.

"I'm not going to pay you." Arella flatly told him.

"Oh I realize you won't. Not in money, anyway." Slade replied with a cold grin, and Arella returned his devious smile.

Slade Wilson, as much as he hated the Titans and wanted to go back to hunting them down and trying to destroy them, had found something he liked more than his constant matches of skill with Robin. He'd honor his word to Arella, for now. After all, it was not easy to find a good woman in his line of work.

The two stood up and left the café together, vanishing into the night.

**

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**

"Please Rae?"

Raven was now in the living room. Starfire and Robin sat next to each other on the couch, watching a movie, as Raven entered the room. She floated into the kitchen with Beast Boy following her, still begging for his goodnight kiss. Raven was still ignoring him as she began to look around the refrigerator for a midnight snack.

Over on the couch, Robin was kicked back with his feet up on the coffee table. He had one arm around the back of the couch, and the other around Starfire's shoulders. She was snuggled up against him, with her head tucked under his chin and her knees pulled up to her chest. They listened as Raven headed up the stairs towards her bedroom, and Beast Boy followed her, still asking for a quick kiss before bed.

"They're a trip, aren't they?" Starfire asked. Robin cracked a smile.

"So are you." He whispered.

"What's that supposed to mean? You think that just 'cause time rewound, I'm supposed to go back to the old me?" She asked him, pulling back a bit and staring at him. "Would you prefer it if I talked in this manner and stopped using slang popular to this planet, instead mistakenly thinking that saying someone is a trip refers to them leaving for another destination?"

"You don't have to be sarcastic." Robin replied.

"Yeah, but I want to be." Starfire giggled. He took his other arm off the armrest of the couch and wrapped it around her midriff. She smiled and returned the gesture by placing her hands around his neck and leaning in, giving him a small kiss on the lips. When she broke away, Robin was grinning.

"I'm glad I don't have to beg you for kisses." He wisely observed.

"We have a lot of time to make up for." Starfire reminded him. "So you'll never have to beg."

Robin grinned and leaned forward, instigating a second kiss. This time Starfire held onto the kiss, and deepened it herself. Robin wasn't about to complain about that. The two shared a third, then a fourth, and eventually a fifth kiss. As they did, their bodies shifted on the couch so that Robin was no longer leaning against the back of the sofa, but lying flat on his own back. Starfire was straddling him, kissing him all the while; and Cyborg was watching them both without a word, a huge, mischievous grin on his face as he waited for the perfect opportunity to interrupt their magical moment.

That opportunity came when Robin's hands slid down Starfire's back and found a new spot around her waist. Cyborg grinned and leaned on the back of the couch so that he was close to where the two youths kissed.

"You seen the TV guide?" He asked innocently. In a flash, Starfire leapt off Robin and her skin turned as red as her hair. Robin, a tad flushed and out of breath from his previous engagement, glared at Cyborg with fury in his eyes.

"No, we haven't." He panted.

"Oh. Okay then." Cyborg grinned like a kid in a candy store. "I was going to watch a romance movie on HBO, but I guess with you two around I don't need TV for romance, huh? . . . Although y'all look more like a playboy movie than HBO."

Robin tossed a couch cushion at Cyborg's head, and the half-man, half-machine laughed and retreated down the steps leading to the garage. Robin glared after him and let his eyes follow his friend out of the room, and then he turned back to Starfire at length.

"He's . . . annoying, isn't he?" Robin asked, completely flustered by the interruption.

"Robin. Can we skip the awkward, 'caught-making-out' teenage moment and instead go straight back to what we were doing?" Starfire asked him bluntly. Robin grinned at her.

"Sure, Star. That sounds good."

**

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Raven was right outside her bedroom door now. Beast Boy was right behind her. She knew he was there, and she knew he was being tortured by her refusal to kiss him. She paused at the doorway with her hand on the doorknob and then turned to him.

"Do I even have to say it?" He asked her.

"You want a kiss _that_ badly, eh?" Raven asked him.

"Yes please." He replied hopefully.

"I don't know. I would kiss you, but I'm not sure I want to put my tongue in your mouth . . . _I_ know where it's been." Raven tormented him.

"C'mon Rae! Nobody said you gotta tongue-kiss me, I mean, I'd prefer it if you do, but I'm so desperate I'll take anything." Beast Boy insisted.

"Gar, you don't take jokes well, do you?" Raven teased him. She took a step closer to him.

"Refusing to kiss me isn't a joke; it's spiteful and cruel." Garfield replied. "A joke is, 'knock, knock'."

"Who's there?" She asked, playing along.

"Kiss me dammit!" Beast Boy replied.

"Kiss me dammit who?" Raven took her mean game one-step further.

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaven." He whined.

"Fine." Raven let out a sigh, as if she was caving in, but of course, she had planned to do this all along. She leaned in and touched her lips to his. Beast Boy's face relaxed and he felt his entire body soothed over as her lips meet his. A moment later, to his enormous surprise, he did feel her tongue enter his mouth even after her earlier refusal. When she broke away, at length, Garfield grinned at her.

"Thanks Rae. That was worth the begging."

"I love you." Raven replied.

"Aww, wow, I even get an 'I love you'? Did I win the lotto?" Beast Boy giggled.

"No. I'm serious. I love you." Raven's voice took on a grimly serious tone. "You changed my life, Garfield. If it hadn't been for you, and that stupid book, I never could have pulled through. And if it hadn't been for your heroic act the other day, Trigon would have killed me."

Garfield's head inflated faster than a hot-air balloon. "So it was a heroic act now?"

"Yeah." Raven replied. "But that doesn't make biting my father's privates any less sickening." Raven added, then she turned around and went into her room, shutting the door behind her.

"She's like a double-edged sword sometimes with that sarcasm." Beast Boy commented to himself. "But I love her still."

Beast Boy smiled and retreated off to his own room, happily humming a tune.

Inside her room, Raven lay down in her bed and pulled the blanket up to her chin. Then she closed her eyes and drifted off to peaceful sleep, dreams of a green young man filling her head, and happiness filling her heart at what she had regained. It had taken ten years, and several battles, but Raven was finally back home, and she was finally happy.

_**End Epilogue**_

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Closing A/N**: That truly was the final chapter. However, the sequel is coming soon. What happens in the sequel? Well, I can't tell you that; but I will say this much: Raven's powers come into play in a big way, Slade and Arella return, and they have a big surprise for Raven, and Robin has to deal with some challenges of his own when his relationship with Starfire makes the two of them a target for an evil sister and a cunning thief. They'll be a fourth couple introduced in the next story, and a whole lot of twists and turns . . . so look for it, because it is coming soon!

Goodbye! Thank you for reading; GS OUT!


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